zonabb

Maybe. It's not the Bills that are making me question being a STH but the league itself. Frankly it is really hard to stomach this league of billionaire greedy **** owners, their constant drive to squeeze every last nickel from fans, and their disconnect from reality when it comes to their game and its role in America. Throw in this generation of selfish, ignorant, and entitled players and man it's hard to care. And I do care less every single year, that's not for shock value, that's true. Maybe 5 years ago I'd watch a few games a week, 10 I'd watch the 1, 4 and 8:30 game plus MNF. This year I watched Bills games. It's just passing me by because I don't care. That's on the league not on me! They're losing me. See you all at the Ralph in September... sometimes I can't stop myself from myself.

None, the question is such an American "everyone gets a trophy and everyone's entitled" mentality. We don't give C students As because they try hard but can't achieve. Losers are losers, they get what they EARN.

Yeah don't let reality get in the way of your argument. The Bills were second in the league last year, Jets were 17th. Maybe, just maybe, the players on this team, are morons. I've long advocated for drafting brains over brawn because you win with teachable players. Yeah before the Bills were 8th, Jets were 10th. So under Marrone, they were top 10. In 2012, the Jets were 29th. Save blaming the lack of discipline on the coach. It's like blaming beer for someone being an alcoholic. Stupid players take penalties because they aren't smart enough. Calling Jerry Hughes.

+1 He doesn't make penalties, throw interceptions, fumble the ball, or get injured. Injuries have killed this team and anyone who doesn't believe injuries matter is a fool. If the replacement players we better or equal players, they'd play here or somewhere else. Injuries aren't an excuse, they're an explanation. Still don't have a QB either. Blame Rex all you want, the guy has never had a serious franchise QB. I'm not an apologist but you can't expect a guy to come in to an 8-8 team (that NE win was a joke) and with the addition only of an unknown QB, RB, WR (all who by the way missed game with injuries) and a handful of draft picks, not including a first, and have a lot of success when they injuries have piled up and up and up. Everyone that loves the blame game misses the importance of building a team. Whaley has done a god job drafting and getting talent but they're not good enough yet. The right side of line has been a problem all year (guess what... injuries), they have no legit #2 WR (they guy brought in... guess what, hurt). The LBs are mediocre. The safety play has been bad (guess what.... injuries). I don't give a sh!t who the coach is, this team lost way to many man games to injury, didn't make enough plays, and needs some serious upgrades at key positions... oh and has a mediocre QB, a minor issue in the NFL. Who would come in and be better? The next great college failure? The next great OC or DC to fail? The road to the NFL sideline is littered annually with the dead souls of former hot commodity coaches. Save the Jets are better. The talent on their D far outshines the Bills and sadly, Fitzpatrick has put together a waaaay better year than TT. Again, QB play matters, if you thought a rookie QB with what, one start (I don't even know), was going to lead this team to the playoffs, you should have your head examined. Last point about Fitz... speaks a little to my argument about patience. Yeah he's not perfect but this constant NFL shuffle of QBs and coaches on teams like the Bills gives you what you get, no continuity and no playoffs. Anyone confident this QB leads then to the playoffs next year? And BTW, with Shady shut up now? Sick of his tired act.

Can't see this team winning back-to-back road games against teams that albeit have bad records but are in the playoff hunt themselves and have no reason to roll over.

Been to New England, Cleveland, New Orleans, and Miami. New Orleans without question was the best all around. Stay downtown, play downtown, game downtown. We didn't tailgate as much, they have this huge area at the stadium to party and we hit a bar or two on the way in for bloody mary's to deal with the night before's after effects! Cleveland was second, again it's all downtown. New England was very good. Fans were super cool, guys next to use had a huge spread, invited us over for drinks and food. Like Orchard Park, it's way away from downtown and we drove there, kind of a mess. And Miami, well the entire think was bad. The stadium location sucked, the stadium itself really sucked, the lot we were in was lame and the one we walked through to the game wasn't much better. The only reason to ever go back was we stayed on the beach and had a blast there and on the intercoastal. But the gameday experience sucks there IMO. I like destinations with more to offer than football, or in the case of Cleveland, a short drive!. I wouldn't, for example, waste a trip to Charlotte or Jacksonville for a game. I like cities with something more to offer than sprawling suburbs and the monotony of newness.

I loved the guy as a player and a human being, the only player I would say I put any stock into as a person. He meant nothing to the city though. I mean let's not put him up on the cross. I went to bed every night not worrying about what this city would do if Fred left. I mean, have we been swallowed by the lake yet? Part of the narrative to suggest Whaley is in trouble centers on this overstatement of Fred's value outside the white lines. If Whaley is the GM and has to report every single move to everyone above him, he should move on and find the autonomy a GM deserves.

Don't think is but I think McKelvin is a joke. If he has to play a prominent role, they're in trouble. He's my least favorite player in this era of futility. He simply is an athlete with no brain, he can run with anyone, can't deal with the mental aspects of his position. Major liability. Let's hope Gilmore is OK but he was writhing in the field.

I'm on way way soon and am resigned to an embarrassing double digit loss as Watt and Hopkins dominate. Hope it's not the case but a warm weather indoor team coming here to play with the season on the line suggests the predictable roll over by Bflo.

+1 They gotta win a game that matters and with their playoff hopes on the line, this defense will get shredded by a horrible QB and backup running back motoring the 23rd highest scoring offense. I predicted last week, when they had the chance to prove it, that they'd lose to a mediocre game manager and backup running back. Sure enough. Like clockwork. They have this amazing ability to roll over and die. Cleveland and Detroit lost horribly this week, it's our turn tomorrow for the Curse of the Rust BeltTM So I expect lots of quick passes to Hopkins and the rest of the receiving corps and a good day by Blue to give them more then enough points to beat the Bills, whose offense will I think have a tough time tomorrow. And I'll walk about of the Ralph like so many times before saying I'm done as a season ticket holder... only to stupidly return. One of these years though will be it... getting to old to commit.

Regardless of the truth here, these so-called college geniuses are hardly so. Why are all the geniuses at all the big schools with glorious pasts, massive resources, huge alumni investments, and facilities that rival NFL teams? Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, etc. Not that Meyer or is bad coach per se, but when you're at Ohio State or Alabama... you have no salary cap and no limits and 90% of the recruiting is the school's name and history. All you really have to do is no f*@k it up. They're better marketers and salesman to naive college kids than anything. The college came is a true free market. Yes, there are scholarship limits but that is the only mechanism leveling the playing field. But when you trot out the history, the number of NFL players produced, and show the facilities, you're already staring at the opportunity that many schools don't get, which is a legit chance to land talent. And you get to be the super star as the coach because the players are just parttime laundry. Now look at the NFL. You have salary cap limits, you can't replenish your roster in one recruiting class or turn it all over in about 3 years. If you don't have a QB and aren't winning now, you rarely compete for talent. The only thing making these guys take the leap has been money but now the big programs offer the money and the security, which by security I mean the name that results in talent knocking on your door. No one is knocking on the Factory of Sadness or the Ralph to come play there. Meyer would be a fool to leave such an establish place where he gets to pick from the best players in the nation every single year and will always be competitive. I believe the best NFL coaches aren't the guys who've never played in it or coached in it. Chip Kelly is the current proof that these guys don't cut it.

Quick slants against Bills' DBs seem to work well. Then throw over the top. I don't like their chances tomorrow, they could lose by 17.

All this issue really comes down to is what I've argued for constantly.... continuity. Pick a coach and draft the players for that coach to help him be successful. Drafting players in April for a new coach hired in February isn't going to help that coach completely in year one. Problem is, people here and in the media, 11 games in are clamoring for this guy's head. Great, fire him. Then what? Hire someone else who has a scheme that isn't a 100% fit for all the players and next fall, we're back here with the same complaining... The 3-year window for coaches is a joke. If you think the coach is good enough to hire and in almost all cases new coaches are handed sh!tty teams, how is three years enough when you need to rebuild an entire team with 7 draft picks a year who all take time to develop? As an organization, any organization, you live and die by your management. Management lives and dies by its talent. What management typically gets is the opportunity to find and develop its talent. I was always told when I was in consulting that I would never, ever be held accountable for project failures if I was forced to use staff I didn't get to pick. On the other hand, I'd be held to the fire for failures when I picked the team. So in many ways, I think the GM/Coach model of the NFL is out of date when the GM picks the players and imposes them on the coach. I'm not clear on how it works in Buffalo but I think the GM and scouting team role is to identify the best players to fit the current scheme and the coach should have a high level of power when it comes to selection. Here's a good read on how Belichek sees it. http://nesn.com/2015/12/bill-belichick-being-patriots-head-coach-gm-interrelated-to-me/ The Patriots are who they are mainly because of the QB but the Belichek role as coach and GM I think, and as the article suggests, is under appreciated. Yes he misses like they all do but I would argue his teams roll on, replacing talent because he knows what he needs and has the power to pick players.

Sorry but they need a QB, if thing more than finding a capable backup since the two they have aren't the answer and as competition for TT who we can't nor should assume is the long term answer.

During the game thread I asked where the leadership was, who was the guy who was going to graph the team and rally them? Who is the Fire of this team? one trait I've states is key with a QB aside from brains is a complete hatred of losing. I hate to bring it up but watch Brady when his team makes mistakes or is down. Not sure TT has it. EJ definitely doesn't, he's Phil "Oh Well' Mickelson, a flatliner. If you could wrap Manziel's hatred of losing into TT you might have something to work with. Manziel has is just lacks the emotional intelligence to utilize it properly in the NFL right now. And defensively, I would think Hughes would be the guy but it's hard to carry that water when you're making major bonehead penalties that kill your team at an alarming rate. Hughes is Incognito a few years ago now that I think about it. No leaders on D really.

Wait, I thought Whaley sucked because of the misses? I mean no GM has misses. He can't get credit for the hits.

When the new owner realizes that continuity matters. The constant shuffle trying to find the new hot coach is probably one of the worst characteristics of the last 15+ years. Many here are headhunters, always looking to impart blame immediately on coaching and on scouting. I'd prefer to see Whaley and Rex stay and see what a number of years drafting with the same mindset and systems in place gets you. The equation comes down simply to a QB. The hot new coaching candidate always ends up where? On a team drafting near the top and without a QB. That hot new coach gets fired all the time... Why does he go from can't miss to also ran? Usually a bad QB. The list of coaches who are hot candidates every year is lengthy, they're run out as can't miss saviors and three years later, they're gone. How about Jim Zorn, I looked at Washington first. He was a hot candidate after polishing a turd with Matt Hasselbeck in Seattle. He flamed out in DC after two seasons. Or Jay Gruden now with Washington. He was handed a Tecmo Bowl QB in RGIII and then Cousins, who some here clamor for but it just a mediocre QB. How about Cleveland? Pettine's done. The hot candidates before him died slow deaths without QBs.... Crennel, Mangini, Shurmur. How about the Jets.... Herm Edwards, Mangini, Rex, and certainly Bowles is next because we know what Fitz and they know what Geno is. These are basically off the top of my head, there's more. But the point is clear you can't win in this league without a QB, it just doesn't matter who your coach is, just doesn't. Rex didn't win in NY because the QBs he had sucked. If Rex sucked, why isn't Geno staring over Fitz now? And why is Sanchez only starting for an injured Bradford? You need to find a decent QB if you can't get a franchise QB and take the Bengals approach. Same coach, but the team and systems around a QB and continuity. I also think blaming a QB for missing is misguided. GMs are in tough positions when to comes to QBs. The supply is continually more limited in terms of quality and the pressure to find one (demand) is increasingly high. They overdraft and miss, a lot. The should really just draft one a year not in the first and see what shakes out unless a sure fire franchise guy ends up in your lap. Can't fault Whaley/NIx for trying with Manuel, that's the demands of the league. EJ sucks. But they had to take a guy that year and who did they pass on? Here, let me refresh your memory... Geno, Barkley, Nassib, Glennon and it gets worse from there. They were in a no win situation, had to take one and they all sucked. They would have been roasted for not taking one.

My Bills fanaticism is rapidly wearing off, finally. I find it better mentally to let it go. Seriously. Last Monday night, I went up to bed at halftime and watched the history channel. I was certain they would lose so I decided against wasting the time and energy and emotion. I never clicked over once and didn't check until the morning. And you know what? I was fine, I didn't watch it, so it didn't grate on me. I posted in a thread this past week they'd lose to a game-manager and back-up running back a la the last game of the 2004 season when Tommy Maddox and Willie Parker and the rest of the backup Steelers came to town and owned this team in a game that could have put them in the playoffs (if I recall correctly). I guess it's the long streak of futility coupled with a league I just can't stand. I can't stand the owners, I can't stand the greed, I can't stand the attempt at world domination and putting a team in London, I can't stand the constant threats by billionaires to move teams when local governments won't cough up public funds to support private profit, I can't stand the Greg Hardy's of the league, I can't stand what was 3 hours of my Sunday being extended to 3.5 to jam more commercials down my throat, I can't stand the constant rule changes and the disregard for the league's history and legacy (the PAT rule is a joke).... and on and on. I'm a season ticket holder and I can't stand meaningless December games. I cobbled all my money together from my summer job during the super bowl years to afford season tickets... when I was a senior in high school. And I'm not wasting 8 hours Sunday going. I'm trying to sell my seats to some of the guys around me or more likely have to take a loss on Craigslist. Bill Burr talked about letting go of religion being like letting go of the stone in curling.... you slowly release it and watch it go away. I'm getting there with the Bills and the NFL. Put a dome stadium here, I'm out. It'll suddenly turn into a Sabres game with high priced seats that cater to the wealthy who won't sit outside. That'll be it if it doesn't happen sooner.

I've said it before and I'll repeat it... the home team has a distinct advantage on challenges because any potential benefit the home team can get from a challenge results in multiple replays in slow motion on the stadium jumbotrons. It eliminates the guesswork and the communication channels and allows a quicker challenge and also the head coach to see and make the call himself. At home, Rex sees the Maclin catch 5 times before KC can lineup and makes the challenge. In KC, the play probably never went up on the screens all over the stadium and he had to wait for it to go through the channels, which apparently meant they never say it either, and he had to let it go. Players gotta make plays. Blaming the loss on a few challenges is shortsighted. Guys need to tackle, stay in their lanes, and make players. Period. Oh, and Roman needs to get the ball into McCoy's, Clay's, and Sammy's hands 90% of the time, so if you want blame, start with that over-rated joker.

Players gotta make plays. Blame coaching all you want if that makes you feel better, but Rex doesn't tackle, or catch or personal foul or hold or fumble. Give me smart players, make better decisions on intelligence and mental capacity and you'll have a better team. Draft guys like McKelvin and you waste first round picks being blinded by skill with a peanut brain.

Carpenter could very well be the goat, but I suspect a flame out on this drive

I hate Hughes with a passion.

Roman sucks compared to most OCs

Just bad d, you know they're running right up the middle and that happens?

Great halftime adjustment. We tricked them into thinking we'd keep throwing to Watkins, suckers.