hondo in seattle

I apologize gents because I did many things wrong. First, I invited a couple Raiders fans to watch the game with me with the Bills Backers of Seattle. One even quietly rooted for the Pats for some incomprehensible reason. Second, I neglected to order my traditional Buffalo Wings until the second half. My wife is actually the one who caught the error and corrected it - and she's from the Philippines. Clearly the gods are angry with me.

On the one hand, we lost by only 8 to the SB Champs playing with a HOF QB whose skills were on display. The early 90s Bills suffered some worse losses than this. On the other hand, Rex is supposed to be a defensive guru and the Pats just hung 40 on us. We had no answers to their offensive game plan despite having a Pro Bowl defensive line.

I'm still struggling to understand Rex's game plan. Rex and his defensive coaching staff are all intelligent men. Yet, it was hard to see evidence of that combined intellect on Sunday. All we needed was a scheme that would keep the Pats under 32 points. Was that really to much to ask? Press coverage, inside blitzes... we needed to try something - anything - else.

Denial — The first reaction is denial. In this stage individuals believe the diagnosis is somehow mistaken, and cling to a false, preferable reality. Anger — When the individual recognizes that denial cannot continue, it becomes frustrated, especially at proximate individuals. Certain psychological responses of a person undergoing this phase would be: "Why me? It's not fair!"; "How can this happen to me?"; '"Who is to blame?"; "Why would this happen?". Bargaining — The third stage involves the hope that the individual can avoid a cause of grief. Usually, the negotiation for an extended life is made in exchange for a reformed lifestyle. People facing less serious trauma can bargain or seek compromise. Depression — "I'm so sad, why bother with anything?"; "I'm going to die soon so what's the point?"; "I miss my loved one, why go on?" During the fourth stage, the individual becomes saddened by the mathematical probability of death. In this state, the individual may become silent, refuse visitors and spend much of the time mournful and sullen. Acceptance — "It's going to be okay."; "I can't fight it, I may as well prepare for it."; "Nothing is impossible." These are the 5 stages of DABDA in the Kubler-Ross model. Yesterday, I was Stage 1 - I can't believe our defense is getting freaking shredded like this. This can't be happening! Today I'm at Stage 2 - Was that really the best game plan Rex could devise? That @$#?{)(%$ Ryan is so effing overrated as a defensive guru. It looks we're stuck with another bad head coach! Why are we Bills fans forever cursed??? With a little Stage 3 - Maybe if I had eaten Buffalo Wings earlier in the game, as per tradition, we would have won. I'll order the wings early next Sunday and every Sunday. We can get this season back on track with a little luck. And a little of Stage 4 - Man, will this be another year of disappointments? With just a touch of Stage 5 - It's all going to be okay. It's just a football game; it's not the end of the world. My family still loves me.

It would have been better if his leadership had prevented the problem, rather than just commented on it after a loss. But I get what you're saying.

Several posters here had serious worries about this OL during the offseason. Those concerns look justified so far. I'm happy with DW's performance for the most part, but I'm not sure why he wasn't more aggressive finding linemen earlier this year. Games are won and lost in the trenches and we lost the battle on both the offensive side and defensive side of the ball yesterday. I'll grant the DL just had a bad against a QB who gets the ball out quickly. But the OL needs to be much better than what we've seen so far this season. At least once, the pocket looked fine but TT left the pocket only to be sacked. Not sure, though, about blaming most the pressure on TT.

Kind of funny. At the beginning of the season, many of us hoped the offense could manage just 20 points a game. That level of production would get us into the playoffs, we thought, given the D we had. So far the offense is delivering well more than expected in Roman's first games as OC and TT's first games as a starting NFL QB. And this is only the second game in the Rex Ryan/Dennis Thurman defensive dynasty. They got schooled by the SB champs. They'll get better.

This is a classy post. Thanks, PatsFanNH!!! I think our negativity stems from our disappointment. Many of us hoped this would be the year we finally supplant your team as the kings of the AFCE. Our hopes were dashed by your coach & QB yesterday. Reality can be a bitter pill sometimes which probably explains why Bills fans drink so much. Brady's ability to get accurate passes out to the right receivers as quickly as he does is uncanny. And, sadly, Belichick clearly outcoached Rex at the Ralph on Sunday.

We all know Ryan's track record of success as a DC and defensive minded HC. But he had no answer for Brady, despite the talent we put on the field. It's easy to wonder if Schwartz wouldn't have done better.

Not to be a Negative Nancy, but I'm shaking my head in bemused wonderment at this pathetic defensive effort. Belichick and Brady are giving a clinic on how to dismantle an opponent.

Brady is still a top-tier QB, no matter how much he's villified here. And Belichek is a great coach. Yet, their D has weaknesses. Bills 27, Pats 24

I am hopeful that the Bills will win. I think we match up well, have the most talent we've had in a while, and the home field advantage will help. But I think it's hard to be very confident about beating a Belichick/Brady Patriot team. Betting against them is usually a mistake.

Pick plays are frustrating because too often you see guys get away with illegal picks. Not surprising when it's a fast-paced judgment call where intent factors in. To simplify the game, maybe picks/rubs should just be legal.

My early Xmas wish list: * Bills beat Pats by double digits * Buffalo crowd sets world record for crowd noise at game

Seattlelites were so proud when they set the previous record, aided by the parabolic canopies and aluminum benches of CenturyLink Field. If you guys set the new World Record, I'll brag often and loudly here to my Seahawk loving friends.

Bills fans are wild, crazy and loud. But I think some underestimate how difficult setting the WR will be. These are stadiums also had loud fans. And in some cases, the acoustics of the stadium helped the cause. Bills fans will have to be extra special on Sunday. And a special play - like the play that won the Denver game last night - would certainly help the volume. I wish I was there to contribute my share.

It makes fun of a situation. It doesn't denigrate any human beings. I'm okay with this and thought it was funny.

Or trade a 4th round pick for Freddy?

This is interesting. I guess maybe it was during the first drive during the 4th quarter that I got nervous that we were getting too conservative. After all, I reasoned, they have Andrew Luck, one of the best QBs in the NFL who has led 4th quarter comebacks in the past against other teams. I told my wife, "I hope we don't run every play." But as the clock ticked, I embraced the running. Because we were conservative, the scoreboard didn't indicate how lopsided the game actually looked. Buffalo was clearly the better team on that Sunday in all 3 aspects of the game.

Classic Spags! Great stuff! I wonder if any Bills fans are doing a similar schtick on opposing team fan sites?

That's what I'm hoping for from the Bills OL this year. Well-designed run plays with every lineman covering his guy.

I've been to a couple 49er-Bills games in San Francisco and was well-treated by the locals. I also went to the Bills-Miami playoff game in Miami many years ago. Mostly well-treated there too but a few Fin fans did get aggressive with the Bills fans in attendance. I know Buffalo is the City of Good Neighbors but - unfortunately - Bills fans at the Ralph do have a reputation for drinking a little too much.

I just noticed the new Cold Front avatar. Awesome!

Good point. The world record used to be held here in Seattle by Seahawk fans. But CenturyLink Stadium was built to be loud by using parabolic canopies that reflect sound back to the field. And as an article in Time points out: "These physics also change behavior. “Fans get caught up in it,” says Stewart. “They experience an intense increase in the sound levels that they would not normally experience in an outdoor environment, and are energized by it.” As a result, they scream even louder." The Ralph was not built with similar acoustics. Which will make breaking the record even more impressive. http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2013/09/17/the-science-of-sound-how-seattle-got-so-darn-loud/

Given that 1 in 4 Boston guys are black, I don't think it's necessarily true that when a Boston guy uses the term "wildcat", he's using some kind of anti-black pejorative. In this case, I think he was referring to TT's reputation as a running QB. The fact that David Lee is our QB coach might also have had something to do with the wildcat reference.