2003Contenders

No. The whole reason that the Raiders made this desperate move is because Campbell just had surgery and is going to be out several weeks.

Chan should take a page out of Sean Payton's playbook, and use CJ in some of the same situations that Payton uses D Sproles.

A few thoughts... 1. There is no denying that the defense is bad. They can't rush the passer, stopping the run remains an issue -- and DBs have trouble covering when the opposing QB has all day waiting for routes to develop. 2. The realization of the above truth places unnecessary stress on an offense that has been pretty good. It is to the point, where the lack of faith in the defense has led to some questionable (and overly reckless) offensive play calling at then end of football games. 3. With that said, the defense did NOT force any turnovers against the Giants -- and as bad as the defense played, if Fitz doesn't toss those 2 INTs (or at least one of them), the Bills probably beat a pretty good Giants team on the road. 4. The OP's comments about the method of winning by HAVING to rely on turnovers may be valid. However, it should be pointed out that no team in this league (not even the undefeated Packers) is a complete package. Thus, it will not take a pristine performance to win each week. Yesterday the Bills D (minus 3 veteran starters) recorded no sacks, no turnovers, allowed over 400 yards, committed a number of VERY costly PI penalties -- and still darn near beat a good Giants team on the road.

I wonder if this list includes the "non-catch" in Cinci.

Yes, this may be the same thing that happened in Dallas. (Do not want to speculate.) Back when Parcells referred to him simply as "the player". The claim at the time was that it was an accident -- he had inadvertently taken a double-dose of pills.

Yep. Allowed just one sack to the team that is/was leading the NFL in sacks. And that one sack was more of a coverage sack as Fitz had nowhere to go with the ball. I wouldn't say that this is the best OL in the NFL, given that I think Fitz's quick decision making and Gailey's short/quick pass routes have as much to do with it. Still, it is MUCH better than I anticipated that it would be -- and even depth (Hairston, Reinhart) is beginning to show up.

I don't know. The Bills all but quit last week after the officials blew the Stevie "no catch" call.

Well, Miami was the actual scene of his ultimate undoing. Everyone points to the Arizona game in Week 4 of the 2008 when he suffered the now infamous concussion. However, he did come back 2 weeks later and play very well against the Chargers. The following week the Bills traveled to Miami, went into halftime with a lead -- and even scored a TD (with Marshawn doing an embarrassing dance) on their first drive after the half. Then all hell broke loose. Trent was stripped by Joey Porter and fumbled in the endzone. He fumbled a QB sneak. He made an ill-advised INT... I can remember all of this like it was yesterday... How do you think Trent feels. That is also the game where Terence McGee cam back too soon from an injury and got torched by... Ten Ginn.

The Bills already have 3 wins. That probably takes them out of the Luck sweepstakes even if they lose the remaining 12.

They probably could (and for all we know maybe already have) subtly make a transition like this without technically changing job titles, etc. I will say that the issue to me with the defense yesterday (which is somewhat backed up by the comments that we have seen from Chan and some of the players) was that they underestimated the Bengals. I believe that this underestimation was an in-game mistake rather than a let-down after the big win over the Pats. It seemed that when they went into the second half up by 14, they expected the Bengals' offense to lay down and die. Rather, to their credit, not only did the Bengals come out in the 2nd half ready to play -- they came out poised and wisely figured out that their best bet was no to panic and stick with their running game. Some posters here are complaining that the Bills should have come out trying to blitz more in the second half. For anyone who watched the game, the Bengals took that option away from them by patiently sticking with their running game. Thus, even when they were just getting 3-4 yards per attempt, the Bengals found themselves in make-able 3rd and 3 or 3rd and 4 type situations. While the DL has improved and teams are having trouble running it up the gut, opponents are still having success taking it to the outside and getting way too many yards. One thing I noticed on one of Benson's longer runs in the 3rd quarter is that Merriman is something of a liability in the run defense. Too often he rushes toward the inside and fails to contain his outside gap responsibility -- which allows the runner to get to the outside for a big play. There were plenty of missed tackles especially on the Bengals' final two offensive series. I am not sure how much of that we can blame on coaching.

That's a lot to give up for a guy in his 12th year in the league who has had trouble staying healthy recently.

And... if Willie McGinest doesn't intercept a Kelly pass and run it back for a TD with a minute or so to go, the Bills -- and NOT the Patriots -- win the division in 1996.

One piece of that franchise that gets overlooked is Bob Kraft himself. I believe that he is hugely responsible for much of the success of the Pats over the last decade. No, not in the Jerry Jones sense. Rather, just the opposite. He lets the football men make all the decisions -- and trusts them to do whatever they need to do. Whether than means trading away an icon like Drew Bledsoe, cutting a player's player like Lawyer Milloy or trading someone like Randy Moss. Every player in the organization knows that BB has cart blanch, so they know it truly is his way or the highway. It is thanks to Kraft's trust that the team has developed such a culture over the years. The main thing I came away with from those shows is his attention to detail and his fearlessness. Everyone remembers the failed 4th and 2 against the Colts, but if the Patriots make that conversion the game is over. Note also that the day after the game he stood before the team and took accountability for the play call -- but made no apologies for it. I agree that in these shows BB didn't seem to say anything especially profound -- certainly nothing we haven't heard another head coach say. Of course, I am sure that he spoon-fed the media exactly what he wanted to, conveniently leaving out crucial Xs and Ys. The Xs and Os are only part of it. In fact, Wade Phillips was one of the best football-minded coaches that we have seen. He already has the Texans' defense ranked #1 in his short time there. But there is far more to being a good head coach than being able to draw up plays. It just seems like BB has the ability to get the players to buy what he is selling -- and that is what makes him so great. Part of that is thanks to the scouts for getting him the right kinds of players who WILL buy in. Part of that goes to Kraft for fostering an environment in which the players know that they MUST comply. And part of that is because BB simply has that knack. I can't stand him... but you have to give credit where it is due.

The Bills darn near beat the Bears, who wound up winning the NFC North, in Toronto last year.

There are guys like Mike Williams who can actually play some ball -- but are nowhere near worthy of being selected where they were in the draft. Let's not forget that Big Mike did a pretty good job as a rookie playing RT, protecting Drew. We actually got pretty good production out of him for a year-and-a-half. He had trouble keeping his weight down and didn't have the ridiculous threshold for pain that is required for a guy to play OT in the NFL. I call that one classification of a draft bust. Then there are guys like Maybin, who simply cannot play football for whatever reason. They have no business ever being drafted in the first place. Shame, shame on the Bills for having drafted this guy! The verdict is still out on C.J. He clearly has talent and has already shown that he can play some football. So he may not be a bust at all. And if he is, he will be more of a "reach" kind of bust than a horrible misstep like the Maybin selection was.

Let's see... In 2007, the Bills trade Willis and Marv spends all winter talking about what a special player Fred Jackson, who hails from his alma matre is. Then the team turns around and drafts Marshawn Lynch in the first round. In 2008, Jackson clearly outplays Lynch. Then Jauron inexplicably hands the starting job to Lynch after coming off his suspension in 2009. After Jauron is fired, Perry Fewell has the good sense to reinstate Freddy as the feature back. Fred has a career year. In 2010, the new regime comes is -- eschews trade possibilities for Lynch and drafts Spiller. Spiller isn't ready for prime time, and the Bills do everything they can to showcase Lynch for a trade. When they finally trade Lynch to Seattle, Fred finally gets the carries he deserves -- and produces. Now entering 2011, he faces the possibility of losing his starting job again to Spiller, who still hasn't proven anything. So, no, he is not being a baby.

First, I have to wonder if the fact that he is a registered sex offender and must identify himself as such wherever he goes plays a role in his ability to travel with a professional franchise. I would suppose not because I doubt that this situation is completely without precedent. For as much as we think we may know about Tony Washington, there are decision makers at all 32 teams around the NFL who know infinitely more about him and his past than we do. During the pre-daft period, the scouts leave no stone unturned and delve much deeper into prospective players' backgrounds than any of us can imagine. After doing all this leg-work, 32 NFL teams did not feel that Washington was worth drafting. None of these 32 teams were even willing to take a chance on him as a relatively risk-free undrafted free agent. Personally, I suspect that the notoriety that has followed this young man, has perhaps blinded many from his actual football playing abilities. That is to say, I have a feeling that if some NFL team really thought that this kid was the second coming of Anthony Munoz (or even Demetrius Bell), then I doubt that his past indiscretion would have chased them away. The bottom line is that I have a feeling that real NFL scouts do not see the sort of upside in him that would merit the risk that goes with signing him.

A bit unfair. Because of the labor situation and 2010 being the final year of the existing CBA, all FAs who had fewer than 6 years of tenure in the NFL were no longer unrestricted. Thus, there were very few options in the market at any position last year. The Bills actually signed one of the top UFAs in Dwan Edwards.

What is the opposite of "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em"? The Bills have OWNED Palmer his entire career. Let's hope he winds up with a team that we play often (like Miami).

I always thought that Reed was the classic case of a guy being mismanaged by blundering coaches. He came into the league as a prototypical slot receiver: tough, good hands. I actually loved that pick at the time that the Bills made it. When he played that role as a rookie (in Bledsoe's single magical season with the Bills) he was quite effective. However, the following year, when the Bills asked him to replace Peerless Price, they essentially placed a square peg in a round hole. He had a couple of high profile drops that year -- and I think it ate at his confidence (Similar to what that that Pittsburgh game did to Steve Johnson last year).

Interesting that the Bills drafted the former Long Horn early in the second. Wasn't it Orakpo who said that his agent told him the Bills were not going to draft him because they didn't like former Texas players? Maybe it was silly hard-and-fast rules like that that cost Modrak his job?

Here is my thought: in the high stakes poker game, Buddy officially called DW's bluff -- and Buddy has the winning hand. That is to say that I believe that if the lockout were to be lifted that Whitner would quickly sign the last offer that the Bills made to keep him in the fold. And I suspect that Buddy would be willing to take him back, no hard feelings.

Forget about Hasselbeck. He is going to want to be a starter, and there are several teams around the league that are in worse QB shape than the Bills and will be able to give him what he wants.

I am cool with the Bills having stayed put. Moving down from 3 to 27 is a major nosedive, and as such there would have been no way of evaluating who would have still been on the board at that time. By staying put, they assured themselves of drafting a blue chipper, which is what they did with MD.

Someone should explain to him that if the following things happen: 1. The appellate court upholds Judge Nelson's ruling that the NFL cannot proceed with a lockout 2. The owners and players do NOT come to an agreement Then there is a good chance that the rules that they played by last year will be in place again in 2011. That means that Whitner would be a Bill whether he likes it or not. (Unless, of course, some other team was willing to cough up a 1st rounder for him.)