hondo in seattle

The Bills are 2-2. In the big scheme things, they're pretty much where I expected them to be at this point. However, our D was so incredibly inept in the Pats game, it makes me wonder about (1) Wanny's competence (has the game passed him by?), and (2) the talent of our defensive players (I expected better than this). After the debacle in RWS, it's really hard for me to imagine Wanny as a good DC. I know that even good DC have bad games - but this bad???? I also worry about our ability to win down 2 OL. Our wins are largely attributable to our offense. If our offense stalls because injuries on the OL, we won't pick up any more wins soon. So is the sky really falling? Maybe it's too soon to tell - but there are warning signs.

The Pats have a good Run D and a poor Pass D so, yeah, you let Fitz throw the ball 40 times and hope for the best. I'll actually defend that part of the game plan. But there's no way to defend the defensive game plan. As we saw in the Jets game, Wanny has a knack for doing less with more.

Sanders didn't have a great tenure as the Packers DC but he wouldn't/couldn't be worse than Wanny.

Moorman was fired after 3 games.

This is certainly what it sounds like. So, counting Smith, it looks like we'll keep 4 QBs this season which is excessive and takes away from other positions. This is definitely less than ideal. I expected Coach Lee to work overtime to get TJax ready. But I guess without reps on the practice field, playbook and film study ust isn't enough.

I'm not criticizing anyone for the comparison. I actually had a friend who, when at West Point, wrote a paper comparing combat to football. Both talk about attack and defense, capturing territory, weapons, etc. Needless to say, Winslow is hardly to first to use warrior/military terminology when talking football. It's used all the time. My point was only that experientially they are very different.

Three games is a really small sample. Sacks tend to happen in streaks. Bruce Smith had consecutive games with no sacks and then consecutive games with multiple sacks. If you judged Bruce on a sub-par three game streak, he wouldn't be in the HOF. I'm not worried about Mario, yet. Mario isn't getting double-teamed either because (1) teams don't have that much respect for him, or (2) teams are forced to double-team other players. I suspect, given Mario's history, it's more #2 than #1.

Noticed in the sidebar that 30% of Boston Herald readers who took the online survey are predicting the Bills to win. Pat confidence seems to have hit a low.

Tony is smart, articulate, and won the Super Bowl.

PTR, I don't necessarily disagree with any of your points but for sentimental reasons I just can't agree with your conclusion that realignment would be good for Buffalo. There's just too much history with the Jets, Pats and Fins.

12 tackles in 3 games isn't that impressive. Somebody has to get credit for the tackles. How many were behind the LOS? One sack puts him on pace for 5 for the season. Two forced fumbles is good but probably more luck (right place/right time) than anything else.

Or trying to prove he's not a homer.

Yeah. As a former soldier, I don't see many similarities between being football and combat. Going to an away game is not quite like going to a foreign land and wondering if you'll bleed out in the sands and never see your loved ones again.

Geographically, PTR's suggestion makes sense and no doubt we would develop new rivalries. But I have to agree with K-9, there's a lot of tradition in these old AFCE rivalries. In this case, for me, tradition trumps reasoned argument.

Good work!

+1

You can get a quality player at any position in the 7th round - if you're lucky. But your odds of getting a talented player are better at the beginning of a draft. And RB is important enough still in today's NFL that I would draft a RB in the 1st round under the right conditions. I really disagree with "RB's are a dime a dozen." There aren't a ton of RBs as good as FredEx and CJ. We're a better team for having them then say the RBs the Pats or Jets have. I'd go far as to say Chan would have been fired if Choice was lugging the ball last year instead of Freddy and CJ - the season would have been that bad.

There isn't much difference between 2-1 and 1-2. The difference might only be one blown call by a replacement ref. Without arguing the merits of the Patriots, it's too early in the season to rank-order teams by won-loss. Are the Bills really a team that will win twice as many games as it loses? Are the Pats really a team that will lose twice as many games as it wins? It's too early to tell but looking at rosters, many will answer both questions with a resounding "no." If we win this Sunday, I would expect that we'll move ahead of the Pats in most power rankings. If we don't, the power rankings with the Pats ahead of us will be vindicated.

Who would have expected a Bills forum to turn into an argument about Socialism and Capitalism. I think anyone who doesn't think the owners have a right to draw a line in the compensation sand is just a little bit loco. Likewise, I think anyone who doesn't think the refs have a right to demand the moving of that line are also a little crazy. America is all about negotiated agreements. I don't know if "right" and "wrong" really apply here. Each side has a valid POV. Personally, though, I wish America was more of a meritocracy. Service men and women who risk their lives to defend our nation get paid $30,000 per year. Teachers who instruct and guide our children get paid $35,000. Police officers who protect us and our families get paid $40,000. But almost anyone associated with NFL gets rich. Players - who are simply talented entertainers - and the club owners all get millions. Officials who work maybe 20 weekends a year get six figure salaries. The whole thing is warped. As much as I love the Bills, sometimes I remind myself that it's just a game. So in the end I don't care which side gives in, I just want the "real" refs back.

The Bills started the season with 4 WRs and 4 QBs. Once TJack learns the playbook, we'll cut Thigpen and add a receiver. Right now we're just doing our due diligence in advance of that move. At least, that's my guess.

So we'll probably win 2 or 3 games in that stretch. But if you like long odds,there's roughly 1 chance in 200 that we'll win all of them.

Moorman averaged over 48 yard per punt last season. The Bills were 5th in the NFL gross punt average last season and 7th in net. He has been shaky on directional kicks so far this year - but I would have thought his career with the Bills earned him more patience than just three games.

Fortunately, intensity of pain doesn't always equate to a serious or lingering injury. I used to have a glomus tumor in a toe. I would more-or-less black out in agony when I stubbed it but be fine 5 or 10 minutes later.

The Bills are the highest scoring team in the AFCE right now. The Pats have given up the fewest points. On paper, next week's game looks like an offensive juggernaut (Bills) going up a defensive juggernaut (Pats).

Choice and White did combine for over 100 yards and looked good doing it. But they don't have the ability to break the back of the opponent's defense the way CJ and Freddy do. Gailey's offense has been at least partially dependent on big plays. We haven't been consistent enough (yet) to score a lot of points on long -grind-it-out drives.