hondo in seattle

I can only echo Big C. 3 catches for 31 yards if I recall correctly. And another catch called back. Then there was the long pass which was inches from being a great connection. While he didn't produce any spectacular plays, Sammy did look like he belonged out there. He ran good routes and looked confident. And I didn't notice the ribs slowing him down though maybe they were. Decoy? I don't think he's established enough to be an effective decoy.

This surprises me. Some people thought Brown was good enough to make CJ and/or Freddy expendable. Wonder what the story is.

Chris Simms - the ex NFL QB turned football commentator - said this, "I guarantee the Bills lose to the Chicago Bears... EJ Manuel, do I have to say more?" Nope, Chris, you don't. Your foot is solidly in your mouth already.

There were times I thought Schwartz's defense was too passive - too little pressure, too few blitzes, too many open check-down options - but overall I have to agree. Giving up 20 points against a potent Chicago offense is a solid outing.

Today we live in an alternate universe... EJ Manuel: 7.9 yard per attempt. Tom Brady: 4.5 yard per attempt. (Or is the shape of things to come?)

Yep, I noticed. Instead of getting plays off in 15 seconds, the Bills were often close to Delay of Game penalties. Given the number of 3-and-outs we had last year, slowing the pace down seems like a sound decision.

Agreed. Despite the stats, it seemed there were too few holes. Sometimes I wonder if Hackett is the bigger problem. Spiller's yard per carry has tanked since Hackett took over. I'm not sure Hackett knows how to draw up plays that create space for the backs without the offensive linemen winning every one-on-one battle.

The Bills Backers of Seattle were chanting, "FREDDY! FREDDY! FREDDY!" after that one.

Bills overcame 100 yards in penalties and still won. No nattering now.

Based on 2013's stats, our defense is 61 yards per game better than theirs. Their offense is about 44 ypg better than ours. Not sure how this produces a line of Chicago by 7. There's been a lot of media buzz about EJ's poor play this preseason and the feud between Marrone and the FO. Mostly I think this is a bunch of crap and the team will be very focused and prepared. I say "mostly" because EJ really is a question mark. I don't think he'll regress from last season but I'm not convinced he'll take the big step forward we need. In another hour I'm driving to watch the game at South Lake Union in Seattle with a bunch of other Bills Backers and we'll find out.

Very possibly right. I'd even guess you were likely right. I've worked with a couple guys for a long time. At work, I'm their boss. And sometimes we argue - passionately once in a while. But we still produce better results than our competitors. And we're friends outside of work, attending each other's children's birthday parties, etc.

Bills 200. Bears 280. Total 480.

+1 And let me add: Hackett developing into a good OC. That would be exciting.

Very cool, whoever made this!

CJ sweep to the left for 4 yards (if we're going to be a running team this year, we might as well start establishing the run early) or Bubble screen to the right to Sammy for 6 yards (maybe an easy completion would be good for EJ's confidence and Sammy is, after all, the centerpiece of our 2014 and 2015 draft so let him earn his money)

This makes sense. Though that doesn't make it true.

Marrone: "Hey, did we have a discussion? Absolutely. I confirm that absolutely. Are we great? We talk every day, three times a day. We talk about a lot of things. We're competitive and I couldn't be happier with those guys, I really couldn't. And then the thing about Jim [Monos] is great, too, because I was one of the ones that recommended Jim to come here. " http://www.wgr550.com/pages/9034669.php?pid=425502

Saying Marrone is not on the same page as the FO means you buy Canfora's unsourced article. Graham, Wawrow and Kirby - who all have sources at OBD - say the article is not entirely accurate. Personally, I'm not jumping to conclusions though I will be watching more closely to see if I can discern a real rift and not just a temporary disagreement. Canfora's been wrong before and I'm hoping he's wrong now.

The "Bickering Bills" (a nickname that was probably overblown) evolved into the AFC Champion Bills. Let's hope something similar happens here.

There was an "If" in there. I don't expect EJ to suck consistently for weeks. I just think that's the only possibility that should lead to him being benched. I think Orton has played enough in the NFL that we know where's he's ceiling is at. Apparently, most franchises feel the same. And it's just not high enough. EJ is still an unsolved mystery. Unless he does regress, which happens, I'd like him to stay under center all season.

Despite what Orton has said, it will take him a few weeks to be ready. If EJ sucks consistently for those few weeks, Orton should take over. If EJ's merely average - or if he's inconsistently good and bad - he should keep the starting job. Orton is only an average QB anyway and EJ is still young and learning, and will benefit from game experience.

Awesome! Hilarious it was done in Texas.

It does sound familiar but Orton was actually much worse as a rookie. I suppose this supports the argument that EJ has a higher ceiling. Orton's QB rating his rookie year was about 60. As a starter for Denver, he settled in at about 87. Another Boilermaker, Drew Brews, had a QB rating of 76 his first year as a starter (his 2nd year in the league). The past four years, his QB rating has averaged about 100. Orton went up about 17 points while Brews improved about 24 points. If EJ improves 20 points versus his rookie year, he'll settle in with a 97 QB rating which is very good.

You are looking at Orton's career stats. He freakin' sucked as a rookie when thrust unexpectedly into the starting lineup. His rookie year skews his career numbers downward. Like most QBs, he's gotten better since. In his two years as the Broncos starter, when he had some talent around him, Orton had a QB rating of about 87 with about 7.1 yards per attempt and a QBR of about 50. These are respectable numbers. EJ had QB rating of about 77 last year with about 6.4 yards per completion and a 42 QBR. He wasn't nearly as productive as Buffalo's starter as Orton was as Denver's starter. In his only start for Dallas last year, Orton was 30 of 46 for 358 yards and 2TDs. I'd love to see EJ produce a game like that. I'm not saying Orton should start. I agree with the line of thought that says EJ may have a higher ceiling and we need to find out. But right now today Orton just might be the better QB.

This was surprising to me so I looked it up. And we were in fact 11th in hometown TV ratings (at least thru 15 games: http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/dallas-cowboys/headlines/20140103-cowboys-local-tv-ratings-rank-only-16th-among-nfl-teams.ece). I'm guessing the national interest in the Bills is weaker. Apparently the schedulers don't consider the Bills ready for prime time.