hondo in seattle

My three observations: 3) Shady's fumble was a killer. But he was productive today - clearly the most dynamic guy on a depleted offense. 2) When EJ wasn't truly awful, he wasn't bad. But the the truly awful moments cost us the game. 1) This was on of the most bitter, heartbreaking losses since the Music City Miracle. My three guesses: 3) Substance abuse and suicide attempts will hit a peak today in WNY today. 2) At least a few fans will foreswear their Bills loyalty after this game. I can hear disappointed claims of "I'm done with the Bills!" echoing in Buffalo living rooms and Bills Backer bars across the country. 1) It won't be long before many of us start saying with false optimism, "Well, there's always next year."

Typical... Bills give me reason to hope again and then disaster strikes

EJ looked good on that drive... Until we reached the red zone

Crazy stats... We have more 1st downs and yards than Jags.

I wish I was a fan of a different team. Wow, I considered defeat a real possibility but I didn't expect a first half blowout.

I get that FC. I was being a little snarky. But I think it's a little off to disregard EJ's stats when they look at all good. Every QB is going to have drives/games when they play against a prevent defense and are allowed the underneath stuff, or the opponent's star CB is injured, or the star DE, or a wideout latches on to a poorly thrown ball and runs 60 yards with it, or whatever. That's all part of the game. EJ is hardly the only QB to benefit from something beyond their control. It happens all the time. To my knowledge, no one is saying EJ played great against the Bengals. I just don't think he played poorly and I think a statistical evaluation of his performance is fair. Whether you look at yards, points, passer rating, QBR rating, or whatever.... they all tell the same story. EJ did okay - and just okay. And after watching football for 45 years, my eyes agree that this was an average-ish performance. I'd go so far as to say, for a backup, EJ played well.

+1

I didn't think it was a Buffalo thing to kick a man when he's down. I hope Percy's okay. Whatever ailing him, I hope he recovers. And I hope he becomes a productive Bill.

You're right. I should. I guess EJ attempting to lead a come back and successfully moving the ball against at defense that expecting him to pass is a bad thing.

We scored 21 points, rolled up 368 yards - more than Cincy on fewer drives - and achieved 22 first downs. That's not bad production, especially when you considered how banged up we were. As pointed out earlier in this thread, EJ earned an average-ish passer rating and QBR for the game. EJ's production was about what you'd expect from an average starting QB in the NFL. He wasn't great... but I can't understand all the negativity directed his way. For a backup, he played well. In fact, I thought he played better than Russel Wilson did in last nights' Seattle win.

I'm rooting for both to lose. It's silly, I know. But I'm a Bills fan so I'm used to disappointment.

I have no idea what's going on with KW. But with what we're learning about CTE, players need to be more careful with concussions. In fact, more players ought to to retire younger.

If it's true, why would the agent want to squash it? Just curious.

Renton police said earlier media reports claiming Jackson was drag racing another player were false. Investigators said there was no indication that Jackson was racing. http://q13fox.com/2015/10/20/reports-seahawks-rb-fred-jackson-crashes-car-near-practice-facility-in-renton/ So who's got it right? The investigating police or Deadspin? I'll grant that the TMZ witness sounds credible.

The Bills are #17 in yard allowed per game. http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?tabSeq=2&defensiveStatisticCategory=GAME_STATS&conference=ALL&role=OPP&season=2015&seasonType=REG&d-447263-s=TOTAL_YARDS_GAME_AVG&d-447263-o=1&d-447263-n=1 We finished 2014 ranked #4. Last year we led the league in sacks. This year so far, we're ranked #24. Given that we have most of the same players and - supposedly - better coaches, I'd say the D is "underperforming." Yet Rex seems confident about the future of the D... "I never expected to be where we’re at right now. You know statistically or whatever. But again I’d be more than happy to bet on our players, and bet on our coaches, and bet on myself."

According to Collision Low Crossers, Rex was intimately involved with the D while in New York and I assume it's the same here. In any case, he's the Head Coach. If his DC is screwing up, it's his responsibility to fix it. So, no, you don't have to go down a few levels. Rex brought his defense here (not Thurman's defense) and the defense he imported is not succeeding. And it was Rex's decision to bring Thurman here to implement his defense, instead of retaining Schwartz as DC and letting Schwartz run his defensive scheme. Rex bears the ultimate responsibility.

It's not a Bills thing but an interesting NFL story nonetheless. A young woman says Brandon Marshall going public with his BPD helped saved her life.

I told myself I wouldn't get up that early after been so disappointed with the Bengals game. By midweek, I've changed my mind. I'm hoping this game gets us back to a winning percentage.

This is an opportunity for good leadership. Rex and defensive coaching staff should ask the D Linemen, "What do you do differently last year that made you so effective?" Treat these players like adults. Get them involved in solving problems. And listen to their suggestions. Then (or before) the coaches should study game video of last year and see what the differences were for themselves. Rex likes to tinker. Fine. Let him tinker with the back 7/8. The front 4 were very effective with last year's scheme. They should be allowed to do what they did last year since it worked very well. Rex is probably thinking the D will be better when they learn his system better, or communicate on the field better, or whatever. But we're already 6 games in and the playoffs are on the line. The best plan isn't the smartest, most creative plan. Usually it's the plan that's executed well. Maybe Rex's ideas are indeed smarter than Schwartz's. But the truth is the DL executed Schwartz's scheme much better. So let's go with that. It seems that the players are thinking along these lines. Hopefully they can persuade their coaches.

I'm with Dr. Who. Our offensive linemen are good at rushing QBs. They're not as good dropping back into coverage. They're also not as effective when they're thinking before acting because every week the assignments are different. . I get that sometimes you want to surprise and confuse your opponent. But when your front 4 (yes, I said 4 intentionally) can usually outplay the opponent's OL, let them go at it. Rex can be creative with the back 7 if he wants. He should let the front 4 just do what they did last year.

I wish.

I keep predicting that Rex will finally get the D together. And I keep being wrong. Instead, this time I'm going with a different justification for being a homer. I'm going with the sleep specialist who predicts the Bills will win big. W. Christopher Winter, who works with the Oklahoma City Thunder and sometimes contributes to the Huffington Post says, "Jacksonville is going to lose this game. My guess is pretty badly... Bet the farm on Buffalo." Bills 30 Jags 17 http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sleep-specialist-forecasts-bills-victory-after-looking-at-jags--london-travel-plans-144518876.html

Anyone who thinks EJ played really well, or really badly, yesterday obviously went into the game wearing tinted glasses. His 87.7 passer rating would put him in the middle of the 2015 QB rankings if he had enough attempts to qualify. If you prefer the ESPN rating method, EJ's QBR of 56.9 is about average for a starting NFL QB. And my eyes - after watching football for 45 years - saw an average performance. We scored 21 points and this was supposed to be a team that was built to win when scoring over 20. Considering Rex is supposed to be a defensive guru and we have one of the highest paid defensive units in the league and our D is reasonably healthy (compared to our O), I just don't see how anyone lay the blame for this game at EJ's feet. During the second half, I kept muttering "We need a new defensive coordinator... Rex needs to try something different... What's up with our defensive line?... What the eff is wrong with our D?!?!"

I mostly agree with #1, #2 and #3. But I also see a more talented squad than the one he inherited. There's enough talent, IMHO, that good coaching could've/should've produced a winning record thus far.