hondo in seattle

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.

Shows need advertisers. So they need ratings. So they need guys who are interesting and opinionated enough to drive the ratings. I used to get upset when the political media types (Rush, etc.) or NFL media types (like this guy) said dumb things on the TV and radio. But I've accepted the fact that it's just entertainment. People with no strong opinions, or moderate opinions, don't make for good entertainment. Strong opinions - even when not entirely supported by the facts - are just more interesting. The political commentators still irritate me because they actually sway voters with their stupid, unfounded opinions and misrepresentation of facts. The NFL commentators don't bother me at all because they have no impact on what's going to happen on the field the next Sunday.

And they had the Colts at #1. Curious how wrong the 'experts' can be.

It's the Rex effect plus some. It's the hyper fans. It's a new, dynamic QB and the mystery surrounding him (Who is he? Is he for real?). It's the dominating defense. It's the high expectations. It's an up-and-coming team versus the team most of America hopes finally falls.

Bills 24 Pats 23

Good find. Key quotes: "These plays work because the Steelers have to respect the Patriots run game with the four tight ends on the field. If teams keep defensive backs on the field when the Patriots get LeGarrette Blount next week, then New England is just going to run the ball down the opposing team's throat for easy yardage. But when the teams put linebackers on the field, then Rob Gronkowski and Scott Chandler are able to win their 1-on-1 match-ups every time." "The weakness of every AFC East competitor is their distinct lack of quality linebackers."

Yep. With a limited snap count.

TT swing pass to Shady in the right flat. 6 yards. 22 FDs

True. But some players handle a wet field better than others. Maybe Henderson is just bad at it. I hope that's the case because he looked bad on Sunday. While the media was obsessed with the QB battle during the offseason, I was worrying about the OL and I'm still worried about it.

I never expected Whaley to score a 158.3% efficiency rating as a GM. He's going to throw some incompletes and picks. I'm personally still unhappy about cutting Fred Jackson. But I have to admit this: the roster has more talent now than it has in a long, long time. Considering how little Bryce Brown has meant to the Bills thus far, I'm not terribly surprised by this move.