hondo in seattle

Belicheck apologized to McD. "I understand," Belichick said to McDermott. "It was bull ****. I'm sorry. I apologize." http://www.rollingstone.com/sports/news/gronkowski-hit-belichick-apologizes-for-patriots-dirty-play-w513150

On the one hand, there's not a lot of talent on this team. Shady's our only true star. Most of our players are jags. We probably don't have average talent so to finish with an average record (8-8) would be an accomplishment. On the other hand, Rico ruined this offense. Last year we had a flawed QB, patched together receiving corps, and an offensive line that struggled in pass pro. We still scored a lot of points. This year, with many of the same guys (WRs are different but not much better or worse), we can't score. I'm interested in seeing what corrective actions Beane and McD take in the offseason. Both have work to do.

An eye for an eye. Worked well enough for Hammurabi.

It's a terrible, partisan article. It's great that Gronk apologizes. It would have been better if he hadn't made the cheap hit in the first place.

A few weeks ago, I was thinking Tyrod would most likely be the one gone. But when Mike McCoy became available, I started wondering if both Rico and Taylor would be replaced. Or maybe just Rico. McD is said to be high on McCoy. At the moment, I don't have a strong opinion about who may stay and who might leave - which is why I started a new topic. I'm wondering what the collective wisdom of the board can offer.

"Tyrod isn't the right QB to run Dennison's offense." "Dennison isn't the right coordinator to make maximum use of Tyrod's skill set." We can argue which statement is more true, but I think it's plain to everyone that the Dennison/Taylor isn't a workable OC/QB combo. So who goes next year? Hotrod? Rico? Both?

I love OJ the player. I don't think any RB - besides Jim Brown - comes close to him. And - as a player - OJ was a class act. I despise OJ the man. He should still be in prison. In fact, the world would be a better place if he had never been born. Yep. For a Bills fan there's only one "Hit Heard Around the World" just like there's only one game known as "The Comeback."

"Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" - Buffalo style. Get a bunch of Bills fans together. Spike the Kool-Aid with generous quantities of LSD. Watch reruns of The Comeback and the 51-3 playoff drubbing of the Raiders. At that point, we're all in another reality - one where the Bills can actually beat the Pats.

Rico's still Rico. Tyrod's still Tyrod. Our LBs and linemen haven't changed. We may have peaked at the right time... but our summit isn't high enough to see over the top of Mount Brady. I'm enjoying this week because I think this is the last week we hear any conversation about the Bills having a legitimate chance for the playoffs.

I'm enjoying this week as much as I can because I think this is the last week the Bills are seriously considered contenders in the playoff hunt. I'm going to follow plenzmd1's advice and pray for a miracle. Realistically I expect the Bills to go 0-2 against the Pats. If the Pats play like the Pats, we're toast. If Brady throws 4 picks, we have a chance.

I'm no Pats fan but this is a childish, classless idea.

TT is kind of like CJ Spiller. The right OC will get good work out of him. But he'll be a subpar performer for most OCs. Dennison is in the latter group.

A lot of good QBs were horrible in their first start. A lot of terrible QBs were horrible in their first start. One half of one game doesn't prove anything, one way or the other. But there was nothing in Peterman's first game that suggested he deserves to be a NFL starter. Time will tell.

You can think and say what you want. I'm personally hesitant to judge a man I've never met - and only know from a few interviews and pressers - so harshly.

"Tyrod will have a big game." I hope you're right but I don't see it. Taylor has a certain skill set and particular habits as a quarterback. Skill sets improve incrementally over time - if at all. Habits are hard to break. I expect Taylor to have a typical Taylor game. I'm not sure what I expect from the offensive and defensive fronts - they've been up and down this season. But the recent trend is bad.

I agree with much of this. Hindsight is 20-20 as they say. And with hindsight we now see what a bad decision it was to start Peterman. As things turned out, this wasn't good for Peterman who's confidence must be shaken. It wasn't good for Tyrod. It wasn't good for the older vets who are considering whether to play on or retire at the end of the year. It wasn't good for McD who's credibility took a shot when he controversially decided to start a QB who then produced a historically bad first half. McD bet big, rolled the dice, and lost.

I get that 1/2 of a game is not a fair audition for Peterman nor enough time for him to develop his game skills. But I just don't see how McD can go to his players and tell them Peterman is starting this week after throwing 5 picks in one half when the other QB has a winning record. Would McD "lose" the team? I don't know. But it would sure feel like McD is giving up on this season and starting to think of next season already. If he does that, the players will too.

Air Coryell changed football. Don needs to be in the HOF. After that I'll add Lewis and Moss.

My favorite so far. That'll be me in a few years.

I have to admit I've felt this way a few times myself over the years. But personal history tells me that every time I say "I'm done," I'm wrong. I was tempted to say those horrible, liberating words - "I'm done" - during the 4th quarter of the past two games. In both contests, I turned off the set before the final seconds ticked off. But I knew I'd be back for more, however irrational that may be.

I think there's a talent deficit on both sides of the ball. But there are coaching problems, too, IMHO. The DLine looks like a poorly coached unit to me. Rico took over a relatively productive offense and made it abysmal. The entire offensive coaching staff is failing. They've failed to build an attack that successfully utilizes the little talent we have.

Shady's talent combined with Roman's schemes had a lot to do with that. One thing that amazed me about Roman's blocking schemes sometimes is that our linemen often didn't have to win their one-on-one battles. They merely had to be in the right place at the right time.

Dennison took a good-but-not-great offense and made it inept. I can't think of any reason to retain him except the legendary "continuity."

Somewhere I warned "It could be worse" and sure enough it was. Tyrod hasn't been great but Peterman looked terrible out there. The NP experiment failed. Time to go back to Tyrod. IMHO. And I share the concern with Dennison. Sadly, Rex's coaching staff is starting to look better and better in hindsight.

If "terrible" means "Gary Marangi terrible," then I'm going to wish TT had never been benched. And I'll start wishing Tyrod was back in the starting lineup. While Tyrod had problems, we were in the playoff hunt with him under center. While things could be better, they could be much worse too.