hondo in seattle

I know I didn't predict Zach Brown to be leading the league in tackles and Lorenzo Alexander to be leading the league in sacks after 5 games.

I think Roman had a tendency to overthink things. Lynn has shown the same propensity. Lynn seems to like the obvious: do what you're good at; attack where they're weak.

I agree. Bad teams lose a lot of close games. Good team win a bunch. We've lost our games by less than a TD but won our games by more than a TD. And we're winning the turnover battle - one stat that correlates highly with winning. I get that the offense has not be dominant, that the passing game produces only sporadically. And I get the defense looks soft at times. But we deserve to be 3-2, and we deserved to beat the Rams.

I predicted the Bills to win last week and I'll go with the Bills again. Bills 19, Rams 17.

Football is a violent game. Injuries happen. And not every injury will be fully corrected by one surgery. Medical science just hasn't reached that level yet. I seriously doubt our doctors are incompetent. And I don't know it's okay to denigrate people online without any actual knowledge.

The NFL's best teams have a bunch of solid starters and then a few superstars who put them over the top. We don't have enough superstars to be one of the league's best teams. So I can't be in favor of giving up one of the few we have unless we get a guaranteed superstar in return. I wouldn't even trade Marcel away for a #1. I think the chances of Marcel learning from his mistakes are greater than a first round pick becoming as good as him.

I flew armed on a commercial airplane once... as a soldier going to war. It was surreal. We were all geared up but had stewardesses on the airplane offering to stow our weapons for us. When we arrived at our destination, the stewardess returned our weapons and offered tearful goodbyes. If a movie showed a scene like this, I would have thought it implausibly stupid.

This is the league of second chances and if he's fit and healthy, I'd give him one.

Marcell mentioned the ADHD and now everyone is running with it. But I think he may also have a problem with depression. Both his parents died. His grandparents died. His brother was murdered. His high school coach and mentor died in a car accident after dropping him off. While he doesn't often talk about these things to reporters, when he does these personal tragedies clearly affect him deeply. My guess, as a distant observer, is that Marcell would rather talk about the ADHD than the depression because it's an easier topic to address. But, in fact, he's having trouble dealing with both.

I actually think Roman's deficiencies are more complicated than that. Roman is not a good coordinator. He's a good play-designer and an okay coordinator. He's especially good at designing running plays, not so much at passing plays. When it comes to game planning, he doesn't take a lot of input from subordinate coaches. So the collective wisdom of the coaching staff is wasted. That's not smart leadership. And he tends to over-complicate things. He requires players to learn more plays each week than the average coordinator. So they end up mastering none of the plays. And, you're right, he's not a good play caller. He tries to outsmart the opposing DC rather than playing to our strengths and developing rhythm.

My wife's theory is that whenever we... um, get friendly... the night or morning before a game, the Bills win.

GL, isn't res ipsa loquitur in your signature line more or less Latin for Washington's play speaks for itself? Which I guess why you said, Washington is effective when he's effective and ineffective when he's ineffective. I think he's shown some promise as a rookie but he's inconsistent.

Yeah. A lot of folks were worried about him moving into the the starter role when Reggie got hurt. I guess they shouldn't have worried. I doubt Ragland, as a rookie, would have played as well. I think we all noticed because they showed replays of two consecutive tips. Both were completed as I recall. I really liked the play-calling most of the first half. Not so much the second half, though I think Rex knew they had the Pats offense bottled up and wanted to stay conservative.

Thanks for the shout out Ice Bowl. Obviously, the Pats were without Brady but - then again - they were undefeated without Tom going into this game. Good luck next week against the Gnats.

That's how I understood it. They were booing the play calling, not the players. I've seen Bills fans boo. Though I have never - and will never - boo the Bills, I acknowledge it's part of the sport. It was a great win for the Bills, but a predictable one given the state of NE QBing.

Whaley is a bad GM? Now here's an original opinion that deserves a new thread.

I didn't like the trade but I never held it against Sammy. He's a good guy & talented WR and I've been glad to have him on the team. But if the foot problem lingers, he may be remembered as one of the great busts in Bills draft history.

Pats QB problems catch up to them. Bills 24, Patriots 13

I agree. While the Pegs might like Lynn, there's no way Rex could positively state Lynn's the next HC. The Pegulas could love Lynn and still hire someone else. Besides, Rex wants redemption. He's either going to stay until he makes the Bills a winner or until he gets fired.

I'm more worried about Sammy's foot than G-Ro's departure. G-Ro's firing may turn out to be a good thing, or a neutral thing. Sammy's foot has the potential of really hurting our offense.

I'm sure Rex was disappointed with both sides of the ball so far this season. He couldn't fire himself - and wouldn't because he's confident/arrogant enough to believe he can fix the defensive problems himself. He couldn't fire Thurman because Thurman's a DC in name only. He could fire Roman. Especially when - I'm guessing - he's reached a point where he's more confident in A-Lynn than G-Ro.

He's had success as a RB coach. From the BN: Everywhere Lynn has coached running backs, his teams have had success on the ground. Consider this: He’s either coached a 1,000-yard rusher or a team that combined to rush for over 2,000 yards in 12 of the last 13 seasons. That includes work with running backs like Fred Taylor, Julius Jones, Jamal Lewis, Shonn Greene, and, last season, LeSean McCoy. Additionally, in the last three seasons, Lynn’s teams have finished sixth, third and first in total rushing yards. http://bills.buffalonews.com/2016/09/16/five-things-know-new-bills-offensive-coordinator-anthony-lynn/ Apparently was well respected by Jets players: Assistant coaches on the staff of recently terminated head coaches are rarely in the running for a head coaching position but given Lynn's success and longevity (he has been coaching in the league since 2000), it all makes him an intriguing candidate for the Jets. He's well respected in the locker room among the players and the rest of the staff, with one team source saying that “Lynn carries himself like a future head coach.” http://www.metro.us/new-york/anthony-lynn-to-get-in-house-interview-for-jets-head-coach-job/zsJnlD---eShMArRsu3q32/

Starting off 0-2 makes the playoffs unlikely - again. But Roman had enough flaws as an OC that I'm not convinced Lynn won't be an upgrade. Obviously Rex thinks he will be. We'll see. Exactly right. When Lynn was interviewing for HC positions, Ryan had this to say: "Being a former player, he's got Super Bowl rings as a player... He's smart. He's been with me now for seven years. So he's a great football coach. And the other thing is, he's got the respect of all the players. I've seen him work with veteran players, young players. It makes no difference." "He had [LaDainian Tomlinson] at the end of his career, and L.T. was pass blocking better than he ever had and took a lesser role -- and here's a first-ballot Hall of Fame back. So this guy can coach them all. He can coach the special players, the guys that are hanging on type players, developing players, he can coach them all and he's great for our team. But if he gets that opportunity to become a head coach, that would be awesome." http://sfo.247sports.com/Bolt/San-Francisco-49ers-coach-candidate-profile-Anthony-Lynn-42574208

I'm surprised nobody's started an A-Lynn thread so I will. G-Ro is history. I'm interested in the future and A-Lynn is the future. Some of the players seem to have confidence in him. I don't know if anyone outside of OBD knows much about his offensive philosophy but SB Nation pretends to: Lynn is likely committed to showing Ryan that Ryan might still be Jets coach, that Ryan might not be 8-10 now in Buffalo if he’d given Lynn this shot much earlier. Lynn’s philosophy – a run-centric offense that plays physical in style and piercing in the passing game – is as Ryan-hat-hanging as it gets. Here are some things that will happen with this Buffalo offense under Lynn’s direction: There will be an emphasis on remaining on schedule in drives. That means more offensive play calls complementing each other. More emphasis on reaching third-and-short situations. There will be a patience and insistence on running the football. He will not abandon the running game just because a play or two loses a yard or only gains a yard. The pounding will be constant. The offensive players will respond to him. Lynn will be clear, precise and demanding. Not only does he speak their language, but he also stirs their passion. Expect a bolder, more confident Buffalo offense. http://www.sbnation.com/2016/9/16/12948416/rex-ryan-bills-hot-seat-fired-greg-roman-anthony-lynn-offensive-coordinator

True. We've had some reasonably good OCs and DCs but never both at the same time.