R. Rich

Agreed.

Not bad, but I wouldn't put Montana ahead of Unitas and I'd probably put Joe Greene in there instead of Lott. Greene is arguably the best defensive lineman of all time (though I admit I am biased as he is my favorite football player of all time). I have missed these shows so far (always intend to watch 'em, but never do), but if the top player isn't Jim Brown, then this list is garbage.

I'd like to see the Bills run the football a bit more, but the key to developing offense is balance, not being either run or pass-heavy. 'Til the Bills have balance to the point where defenses need to focus on both the passing game and the running game, the offense will struggle to find continuity. So, who would you like to see the Bills draft in the first round? I wish you'd just say it and not be so vague.

The hiatus is over and free agency will resume on Monday for the special teams and a general clean up round. Also, the schedule of when the games will be simmed has been released and can be found in the "Schedule of Events" thread in the league forum.

First off, the tailgate was a tremendous success. Considering the 0-5 start to the season, I expected maybe 40 or so @ the most. Turned out we had 60 pay for the buffet in our private 2nd floor "party room" w/ another 30 or 40 who enjoyed the drink specials outside. Way to represent, Bills fans! A huge thanks goes out to the hard working staff @ Sliders, who did a great job of making Bills fans feel @ home. Considering we've done four of these tailgates there, and each has had near/over 100 people, we have an open invitation @ Sliders whenever the Bills show up. Nice. It was also nice to see so many folks come in from out of town. Tony (Mr. Info) and his family (I'll get the photos to you shortly-PM me an email address or Facebook info or some other way to send 'em), Rande (mead), Helen (Mrs. mead), Matt (son of mead), TJ (friend of son of mead: looking forward to the home brew), Paul and his wife (friends of mead: Sunday was the wife's birthday!), Jay Rosen/Rubeo/Site Crasher, Pinto Kenny and crew, and Beerball (thanks for the drinks on Sunday; Psycho Ward 86 thanks you as well). It sure was great to see you all and all the other folks I had a chance to meet and chat w/. It really was a great time. On to the game itself. Certainly was a lot closer than I and many others thought it would be, eh? Taking the Ravens to overtime? Gotta give the guys props for gutting out a tough performance. They showed us all that there is some fight in 'em and that they're not just mailing this season in. Good. Ryan Fitzpatrick had a very solid effort! He still makes the boneheaded throws @ times (throwing to the deep middle when Ed Reed is in the vicinity is bad, so is throwing short when there's over/under coverage w/ Ray Lewis and Reed), and still has some accuracy issues (over/underthrowing guys who are open), but overall the guy showed the toughness to hang in there and make big throws and the intelligence to know when to tuck 'n run. Way to give us Bills fans some hope. The way he kept his head and drove the team down for the game tying FG was superb. Props to Fitz for having the first 300 yard passing game for a Bills QB in nearly 4 years (!), though it is sad that such a stat exists in the first place. I like a lot of what I saw from Fred Jackson in the running game. He ran patient and fought for what he earned. One thing though: when you get the handoff deep in your own territory, make sure you take off as soon as you get the ball. When playing teams like the Ravens, know this: pursuit from the backside is going to come QUICKLY, as it did when Lewis dropped Jackson for a small loss on a play where Jackson didn't really accelerate from the snap. Outside of that, I thought he ran well and really helped the Bills control the clock and move the ball on one of the toughest defensive fronts to move the ball on. C.J. Spiller had one pretty nice gain, but again, was used sparingly (huh?) and didn't really establish anything on the ground. What a day for the Bills' receivers, huh? Tremendous job. Lee Evans made plenty of big grabs in this one and did a good job of finding the open areas. He did drop one late that could've gone for a huge gain, but still did a great job. Roscoe Parrish has shown a lot of heart lately. He makes tough catches, even in traffic. The first Reed pick was a play that Fitzpatrick tried to force into Roscoe, but that one had much to do w/ a great play by Lewis and not anything Roscoe did wrong. The story of the day for these guys was.....Steve Johnson! Really?!! A 158 yard, one TD day for Steve Johnson??!! The one catch where he made a nice move and got free to gain more yards was outstanding. Again....that was Steve Johnson?! Not much out of the TEs again, outside of Shawn Nelson's catch and fumble (more on that later). Still, you gotta love what the Bills got from Evans, Parrish, and......Steve Johnson!!!!! Props to the offensive line also! I was watching one guy in particular: Geoff Hangartner. Outside of the boneheaded penalty in overtime, he had a good showing. His pass blocking was strong, as there weren't many times where Fitzpatrick had a rush right up in his face to either force the quick throw or bring 'em down. As stout as I've seen Hangartner all season. Yeah yeah, I know, they didn't blitz often. Still, teams have been able to pressure Bills QBs w/ just a 3 to 4 man rush for years. Not on Sunday. Eric Wood wasn't all that special, but also didn't really hurt the team either. Cordaro Howard had a very good game, I thought. Much better than what we've seen @ the RT spot to date this season. I still saw a few plays where he got pushed back and allowed penetration, but overall he was MUCH better than what Cornell Green has been able to do. I also thought both Andy Levitre and Demetrius Bell had good outings. Bell looked stronger in the running game and also didn't get overwhelmed in pass protection. Levitre has, in my (meaningless) opinion, been the Bills' most consistent blocker this year. He looks good in pulling to lead on running plays to the outside, and his pass protection has come a long way from that horrid debut in the preseason game against the Titans in Canton last season. The defensive line kept things under control for the most part. They were helped by a peculiar decision by the Ravens not to pound the ball w/ Ray Rice (or Willis McGahee, who really did damage in limited carries) more than they did (thanks), but these guys did show up. Spencer Johnson and Dwan Edwards were quick to get off blocks and chase after plays (props to Edwards on the sack). Torell Troup continues to show that he's got the raw materials to be a good one. The kid is country strong! More technique work will only help Troup get better. Marcus Stroud didn't do much to help, but also didn't do anything to hurt the Bills. Kyle Williams came up w/ a few tackles while playing on a bum ankle. Good job overall, fellas. Another unimpressive showing by the linebackers. Paul Posluszny looked slow in coverage (again) and took some poor tackling angles (Rice abused 'em on one play). Outside of a sack and pass knockdown by Chris Kelsay, this unit didn't do that much on the day. Andra Davis and Reggie Torbor were nearly invisible. Arthur Moats got in and had a tackle assist. These guys still have major issues in coverage, as evidenced by FB La'Ron McClain's 35 yards on 2 catches (a 16 yarder and a 19 yarder) and Todd Heap's 56 yard, 2 TD day (though the safeties blew it w/ Heap also: more later). The run support still isn't that great also, but thanks to Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron's love affiar w/ the pass, that didn't hurt the Bills that much on Sunday. Hey Cam, did ya know the Bills were ranked DEAD LAST in the league vs the run? Just wondering. Not the best moment for the secondary either. Drayton Florence had his moments in coverage, but also got beat a couple times by Anquan Boldin and gave up a very costly pass interference penalty. Leodis McKelvin had Derrick Mason pretty much in check, 'til he gave up a 36 yarder late in the fourth quarter. Reggie Corner nearly pulled off a nice grab in the back of the end zone to squash a Ravens drive after a Bills turnover, but he was called out of bounds. The guys who really didn't help the cause for the secondary were safeties Jairus Byrd and Donte Whitner. Both were horrendous in run support. Byrd took a terrible angle on a running play where the Ravens were backed up inside the red zone, chasing the play to the inside and allowing McGahee to get outside for a big run. Hey Jairus, you're the free safety. If you get sucked inside, there's no defender playing deeper to bail the defense out. Stay home. Whitner got sucked inside on the flea flicker for a TD, but also dropped a sure INT (and maybe a pick 6) and was abused by Heap on a TD play. Byrd went for the pick on the first Heap TD instead of going for the knockdown, and it cost the Bills. Big. This was a rough outing for these guys. As for special teams, man did Brian Moorman earn his keep yet again! That bomb that put the Ravens in poor field position (only to have Byrd screw up and allow McGahee to get the Ravens out of field position jail) was nice! And the FG that Rian Lindell hit to send the game into overtime was not only spot on and dead center, it was good by a mile. Great kick! Good thing the angry mob didn't get their way way back when and have the Bills jettison this guy for stud placekicker Mike Nugent. Hmm....Jon Corto returns to the lineup, and the Bills' coverage units shut the Ravens down to 22 yards on kicks and zero on punts? Nah, I know it ain't that simple. These guys have had games like this already this year, but it was nice to see it again. Then there was the Bills' kick returns...uh boy. Spiller did do a bit better w/ 25 yards per return, but also had the very costly fumble that allowed the Ravens to rally late in the first half. Yikes. Coaching wise, it was a decent effort for Chan and the guys. They had that extra week to prepare and it appears that they worked to prepare instead of just going through the motions. They did a good job of attacking the very weak Ravens cornerbacks, the achilles heel of that defense. I would've liked to see both Jackson and Spiller carry the ball more, but what do I know? I also would've liked to see the defense come up w/ a way to contain McGahee and Rice, but that is something we've waited to see all year and probably won't see 'til the Bills add more talent to their front seven. So, what did we learn from this one? Again, this is just my (meaningless) opinion, but I know what I didn't learn. I didn't learn any of the following: a. The Bills are set @ QB and do not need to draft one of the top guys early if they're available b. The Bills have gone over the hump schedule-wise and will win out over weaker competition the rest of the way c. The Bills are only a few maneuvers and a couple players away from contention As for the first one, hey I loved the game Fitzpatrick had Sunday. He showed heart, made some nice plays, and put the Bills in position to win. But, he also still throws ill advised passes into coverage and kills drives and still constantly over/underthrows wide open players. I think the guy is a very good backup QB to have, but I still believe that if the Bills want to go from a doormat to a competitive team, they need more from the QB position. I'm taking Fitz' game for what it was: a welcomed reminder of what good offense is like. Thanks for reminding us all, Fitz. "B" is the one I kinda figured I'd see/hear after leaving M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday. "We almost beat a good team, so we're better than the other teams and blah blah blah.." I tend to look @ it from a different perspective. Everything was set up for the Bills to win: they played way over their heads while the Ravens played down to the Bills. Given that, the Bills still lost. So, I'm sorry, but I don't look @ teams like Detroit, Chicago, Kansas City, and Cincinnati as "wins in the bank". Maybe they will win one/some/all of those games, but I need to see it to believe it. "C" All I need to do is watch the linebacker play to know that the Bills are @ least 3 quality linebackers away from being decent @ just that position. They also probably need a quality right tackle prospect (we'll see if Howard develops), a QB that can lead the franchise for years to come, and a difference maker in both the secondary (maybe Byrd if he gets coached up on run support and taking better angles while playing centerfield?) and the defensive line (I think it could be Troup w/ more playing time and coaching). That's seven players right there, and there may be even more than that. I also wanted to address the officiating. I think it wasn't clear cut as to the forward progress of Nelson due to his own linemen coming from behind to push the pile. Now maybe once he left his feet, the ref should've blown the whistle. Maybe not. Again, I think an argument could be made either way, which means it isn't clear cut. Sucks, but that's how it goes, I 'spose. As for Corner's near INT, same thing. I could see arguments being made for him being in and for being out. I guess if I were officiating, I'd go w/ whatever the call on the field was for those. As for the other plays that were reviewed, I think they did a good job of making the right call. I know this won't endear me to fans who want to believe the fix is always in and that the Bills will continue to be screwed by the evil powers that be who don't like the Bills because......because.....well, they just don't like 'em, but that's just what I think. So, it's 0-6. But, there's a lot to be positive 'bout. Maybe they will continue to build on that and the team will continue to progress. What's this? Bills fans may have some hope after all? We've come a long way from............Thursday.

This topic is rapidly approaching the "need for one giant Coulda Shoulda Woulda thread" status.

Pay @ the door. There is no prepay.

If the coverage doesn't improve, it won't be just Baltimore having a field day. The Bills still have teams like Chicago, Detroit, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Minnesota and a second helping of the Jets and Pats to contend w/. All of those teams have tight ends that can destroy the Bills.

I imagine you will be able to say that 'bout this team.....whatever their name will be and whatever city they will call home by then. (Sure hope it doesn't change!)

I think McKelvin is playing well, William. Probably not who I would've drafted in '08, but the guy is playing well. I guess in hindsight, I would love to see Ryan Clady or Branden Albert or even Joe Flacco, but we could post all week 'bout all the coulda shoulda woulda moves/non-moves the Bills have made in drafts prior. In fact, someone is doing it as we speak (it's kinda like how I Love Lucy or The Flinstones is always showing somewhere on Earth).

I must respectfully disagree w/ your take on McKelvin, billsfan 34. Like Metz said, he has been pretty solid in coverage this season w/ the exception of getting beat on the out and up by Edwards. Here's my take on his play from Week 1:

Agreed.

Yeah, yeah. Sure ya do.

I hear ya. The Pats know when to get rid of players and still get compensation for 'em. Shrewd. I could roll w/ either scenario: staying put (if the pick is high enough) and taking a QB like Luck or Mallet or trading down and acquiring additional picks. Like you said, the Bills are way more than a player away from contention. As long as they hit the mark more than they miss it w/ additional picks, they could really go a long way toward building for their future.

Then again, people whine 'bout how the Bills never take what trade offers they do receive (allegedly). Damned if they do, damned if they don't.

Fine. Get outta here, then.

Given the choice, I'd hope it would be an OT. I know Bruuuuce was a standout, but the truth is that he was the exception as a pass rushing DE in a 3-4, NOT the rule. The rush should come from the OLBs, so if they intend on upgrading the pass rush, I'd hope the Bills would look to grab a good edge rusher maybe in the 2nd round, kinda like what Pittsburgh did in taking LaMarr Woodley.

Maybe it has more to do w/ the folks who evaluate talent and less to do w/ some sorta "guilt by school choice" issue.

Doubtful, but I guess on any given Sunday...

Mike Williams?

I resemble that remark.

Seattle is rebuilding? I thought they were just rehabbing. That team had a slew of injuries and boy did they struggle. They got healthier and now they're not as awful. Washington? Sure they're doing well. All they did was fork over a ton of cash to a reputable coach and trade for McNabb. I honestly can't envision the Buffalo Bills being in a position to do either of those things, so it's good for Washington, but...

D'oh! I guess I was referring to Johnathan Stupar. Then again, the TEs are so nondescript, I guess it could be any of 'em. Good catch, though.

And so the winless streak continues, huh? That stinks. But, despite the Bills' struggles, I had a great time last weekend. I got to spend some quality time before and after the game w/ my family and I got to see many of the TBD regulars on game day. Lancaster Steve and his wife Lisa, Harvey, BuffaloBart (Pittsburgh game, not Cleveland!), Philster, Mikey, cablelady, sidbuff w/ wife and crew (great to see you, bro), my two favorites for football discussions on game day: Badolbilz and Lori, and last but certainly not least, William and his awesome NYC crew. Good times were had by all...I think. We'll do it up again for the Stillers game next month and we'll be there much earlier than the 11:30ish that my brother and I arrived last Sunday. On to the game... I thought Ryan Fitzpatrick was okay. He did overthrow a few passes that could've gone for long gains, but that's to be expected. The guy is a quality backup but not much more, so none of us should get too crazy over his shortcomings. I loved the idea to quickly strike after the turnover via the bomb to Lee Evans, and Fitz threw a very good pass on that one. There were a few times when you'd wish he would go through his progressions quicker (took a really bad sack by holding onto the ball), but again, those thing will happen w/ a guy who isn't a franchise QB. But give the guy props for not throwing a boneheaded INT by forcing a big play (another thing he has a knack for @ times) and for not trying to do too much and, in the process, make the kind of mistakes that blow the game wide open. Fred Jackson ran well, I thought. Could've been better, but the opportunities weren't there all day. His 31 yard run was nice! C.J. Spiller again showed flashes of potential. He runs well 'tween the tackles; not stutter stepping, but hitting the hole and then making guys miss when he can. He could learn to trust his blocking a bit more (be a bit more patient, especially on plays where they lead w/ a guard or FB) and get his blitz pickups down more, but he looks to be a really good young back. Corey McIntire has had some really nice lead blocks, which is even more reason for Spiller to develop patience in his running. Evans made some nice catches and even did the littl things to help Fitzpatrick out (like coming back to the ball, which hasn't been a strong suit for him). I like the way he's developing into a fine third down receiving option also. No longer is he, "Mr. 9 Route". Thankfully. Roscoe Parrish also is making some nice catches. He had a really nice third down conversion where he could've (and had, in the past) lost the ball coming down due to contact. Hopefully he'll continue to become a solid slot receiver. Problem is, the Bills still need someone opposite Evans to be a consistent option. Yeah, Steve Johnson caught a pair of TDs, but he still has those annoying lapses in his game where he drops passes and looks lazy in his route running. Maybe David Nelson? Maybe Johnson becomes consistent and reliable? We'll see. Shawn Nelson came back, though you wouldn't really know it. No catches, a drop, and no factor in run blocking. Then again, none of the Bills' TEs are that good in run blocking. This unit continues to be a huge weakness. [i'm an idiot: Johnathan Stupar, not Nelson, was the TE, and he actually did have a catch. One.] On to the offensieve line. Pass blocking still isn't that good, as Fitzpatrick was dropped three times and pressured quite a few others. Terrence Knighton is a real good interior pass rusher for the Jags! Or, @ least he was in this game. I will give props to Andy Levitre for a fine lead block early on. He does look pretty good getting out in front for the RBs. Still waiting to see more stout play from Geoff Hangartner and Eric Wood. These guys still allow far too much pressure up the middle. Cornell Green continues to get penalized @ very inopportune moments, like in the red zone. C'mon man; you're on OFFENSE! Know the snap count, fire out, and do your job. As for Demetrius Bell, he had a few decent moments, but still gets beat to the outside far too easy. The defensive line had another rough outing. I do think many of the issues w/ their performance in this one came down to fatigue though. Early on, Maurice Jones-Drew found little room to operate. But as the game wore on and the offense failed to produce or to @ least sustain drives (3 for 11 on third downs), these guys just wore out. Kinda like the way the Bills stymied Drew Brees last year, only to get worn down and have Pierre Thomas carve 'em up late. I thought Spencer Johnson did a better job of getting past his blocker and forcing plays away from the primary hole. Marcus Stroud still looks too slow and is not beating those blocks to either put heat on the QB or re-route the RBs. Kyle Williams got pressure inside by shooting the gap, but also got taken out of plays when he should've been holiding the point of attack. Both Torell Troup and Alex Carrington got some reps and showed some good stuff. Troup has very good strength, but his technique needs work. As I said after the game, he can stack, but he can't shed very well. There were plenty of times I saw him take on the blocks and clog up the hole. Problem was, he couldn't disengage once the RB got there to make the play. He'll get it w/ more work, I'm sure. I do think he can be a good NT for the Bills once he gets his technique down. Then there were the linebackers. Yikes. This is, in my opinion, the worst unit on the Buffalo Bills, and it's not even close. Sad to say, but that's how it is. Paul Posluszny has got to diagnose plays and get to the action earlier than he does. He and the other LBs have to do a much better job of taking on the blocks, shedding 'em, and getting to the action. They are late to plays, are not physical enough, and are woeful in pass coverage. If David Garrard was any sort of stud QB, Marcedes Lewis would've had a monster game against the Bills and the Jags would've blown the game wide open. He was like 7-Eleven; open all day. Props to Andra Davis for deflecting the pass and then getting the INT. Outside of that, there were ZERO impact plays from this unt. No forced fumbles, no sacks (one came by Stroud, the other was a corner blitz), and no tackles for losses. Badolbilz made reference to the good old days of the 3-4 w/ Biscuit and Talley and how we had quality guys like Ray Bentley too. He said Bentley would now be the best LB on this team by far. He's so right. For a team that runs a 3-4, the Bills are horribly equipped @ this most vital position. The secondary was solid in that they wouldn't allow the Jags' WRs to really get anything going. Mike Sims-Walker had a TD grab, but had 'bout 8 yards per catch on his other 3 catches of the day. The guy who really did the Bills in was Lewis, and that was mostly the LBs Lewis abused. Leodis McKelvin and Jairus Byrd got a bit more involved in run support, but that is still not a strong point for these guys. Donte Whitner had 10 solo tackles, but really didn't come up w/ any big time hits, crucial stops in critical moments (like third downs,goal line situations), nor did he force any turnovers. Special teams were not that special. Brian Moorman had a solid game, w/ nearly 44 yards per punt including a nice 61 yarder. Rian Lindell converted a pair of short FGs. Problem was the return units. Not much in the way of returns (no punt reutrns as kicked FGs or turned the ball over) and the kick returns were minimal. The coverage units had some good (only 19 yards yielded on 3 punt returns) and some not so good (an average of 36 yards per kick return, including a 51 yarder @ the start of the 2nd half). Coaching wise, the Bills still aren't quite there. They did get aggressive w/ the early fumble, which resulted in the 45 yard TD to Evans. That was good. But they still play things a bit close to the vest when they could be more open (on third/fourth and short situations). While Troup isn't as refined a DT as Williams, he does hold up better to double teams. I would love to see the Bills experiment w/ moving Williams to DE and start Troup @ the nose. Couldn't hurt @ this point, and you'd get to see more of your younger players. A lot of people will bash George Edwards for the defense's shortcomigs, but as poorly as the LBs are playing, the Bills should expect to see teams attack 'em like Jacksonville and New England did. It's there all day, so why not? So add another 0 to the pack, eh? Now that's 5 of 'em. I know, I know; 11 more to go, right? So what? I'm not rooting for the team to lose to lock up the chance to grab an Andrew Luck or a Ryan Mallet. I'm rooting for the organization to realize what they have and what they don't have in terms of personnel. They need LBs for this 3-4. They need a TE. They need a pair of quality OTs. They may even need to bring in another interior OL (either get a center or move one of the guards to center and bring in a mauler @ guard). They need a pass rusher, but since they're going to run the 3-4, that's why they need to bring in an OLB who can do that. Like what Dallas has in DeMarcus Ware or what Pittsburgh has in James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley. Impact players is what is needed. QB? W/out question, but also @ the other positions I mentioned. The Bills are a long way from being ready to compete. The thing to watch for now is the development of the guys on the roster. I am hoping for the best, as usual. Meanwhile, not even this 0-5 start is going to put a damper on what was a very good weekend for me.

I posted the thread w/ all the details of the October 24th tailgate before the Bills-Ravens game in the Baltimore-Washington Area Events forum. Hope to see a bunch of you all there. Even w/ the crappy start to the season, I've already been notified by quite a few folks (even Pinto Ken) that they plan to attend. It should be a blast, regardless of what happens in the game.