Prickly Pete

I don't know if this has been discussed before, but with teams running so many more plays, aren't the injuries/wear and tear going to mount up by the end of the season? Would it push the League to consider expanding rosters sometime soon?

That was great

I don't mind you contesting what I say, but don't imply that I misspell out of the ordinary words... http://dictionary.re...rowse/eking out I think both are acceptable. LOL...hahaha...heehee....what's your prediction then?

I thought about that before, but it would likely look too much like the Giants helmets.

That actually makes it worse...

Brady sounded like he was quoting Dick Jauron..."These games are hard, it's tough to get these wins".

But it's not. Business as usual is the Pats grinding other teams up and spitting them out. Not eking out victories against rookie QB's playing their first games. Right now, at the beginning of the season, because it's obvious that things are changing. You hard nuts are too much. How about a prediction of the Pats final record, and place in the division? You guys all in, with a first place finish, and a12-4 record? I predict 2nd in the division at 9-7.

Spiller sucks, let's trade him. Maybe we can package him with Byrd and get a right guard? Think there would be any takers? Or maybe we can give the guy the benefit of a doubt after one game, that had a bunch of unusual circumstances (just back from a multiple murder in the family, playing a new, "progressive" offensive system, with new linemen, coach, and rookie QB, against a perennial division bully that has placed stopping him as their top priority). If stopping Spiller continues to be other teams priority, the coaches better figure out how to exploit that better. Spiller might end up having a bad season, but I'm not ready to swap him for McCoy after one week.

I can't believe that people need this explained to them. Have people gone back and looked at the debuts of some of the greatest rookie prospects? Give the coaching staff and the QB a chance to at least see where they stand. It would have been foolish to take the reins off, when they were playing in a such a close game, and with a lead no less. That game got away, but Manuel had no turnovers, and seemed to be able to handle everything he was asked to do. Now they can ask a bit more from him.

How about letting Manuel's cleats to get scuffed, before making judgements. The guy didn't even have a full training camp/preseason to get ready.

I agree. I think the Bills made an impression on the Pats, and have put a little apprehension in their minds. I think the rest of the league (especially this division) saw some chinks in the armor too. The Bills got some nice hits on Brady too. I think that will help going into the next Pats/Bills matchup. The Bills are no longer intimidated by the Pats.

Gee thanks, Captain Obvious! You are no fun. What, next are you gonna mention that they started a a rookie QB that didn't even have a complete preseason, and that most here didn't even give the Bills a chance to compete in this game? Or are you gonna bring up that even the veterans were playing completely new offensive and defensive schemes? Or that Marrone was making his debut against the best coach in the game for the last decade? No, you have to bring up obvious, positive points, and undercut all the fun for the negative creeps that hang out on this board. I'm gonna talk to the mods about banning you.

I think "Spiller being ineffective" is kind of misleading. I think the Patriots were keying on stopping him, and that opened up other opportunities that maybe weren't exploited to the fullest. That is why I voted "Playcalling" instead. This was the debut of a rookie QB that didn't even have a complete preseason, and a coaching debut for a roookie coach against the best in the business. They are going to get a lot better very soon.

The thing that bothers me is that if they had made the first down, at the rate they were going, if they didn't make ANOTHER first down, they STILL would have left too much time on the clock. Just go no huddle so they don't substitute, but drain time off the clock.

I get the hurry-up, but there are certain situations where you can't use it. Pettine must be so pissed.

Which way would you prefer to lose, a game that the defense laid back and Brady slowly picked it apart, or a game where you hit brady a bunch of times, but he beat the blitz and made big plays? And which approach (even in a loss) might put a bit of apprehension into Brady for the rematch played later in the season? I think the answer is obvious. I want it in Brady's head EVERY TIME, all week in preparation for the Bills, that it will be a physical game, even if he expects to win by a large margin.

So it was all Robert Royal's fault?

I'm not at all convinced that if the Bills had say, Tony Gonzalez all these years, that their record would have been signifigantly different.

Good offenses have good QB's that can get the ball to all the WR's and open up the field for a TE. I think it has been way more of a problem at QB than at TE. When you don't have a good QB, AND you have the kind of defenses that the Bills have had, you slide TE down in priority come draft day. A more talented TE wouldn't have saved any of the past Bills teams from sucking.

Option 3 - Get out of the way, so a worthy player can have a job, and quit fueling all this hyped media nonsense.

Great, Thanks.

yes, this team is in desperate need of a backup QB to lose games with. If EJ ain't playing (or sucks), this team (like virtually ANY team in the NFL that loses their starter) is going nowhere anyway, so why all this fretting about EJ's backup? I understand some concern, but this is just out of control. Nationwide, NFL fans and media, wonder "Who...WHo...WHO will be the Buffalo Bills backup QB?!! They have got to do SOMETHING!!"

NONE of the mainstream media guys know more about specific teams than the hardcore fans of a particular team. Half of the talking heads just repeat what they have heard about a team from other talking heads. This is especially true of the perennial losers like the Bills, or the Lions. NO ONE CARES enough to actually waste time investigating the small market, losing teams.

Okay. I am curious to see TE's stats for that preseason, or even better, the actual footage. Let's just beat this into the ground.

He has already played better than Losman, Edwards, Fitz, Brohm, et al, in the preseason setting. That might not count for much, but it is the only opportunity he has had. The other guys couldn't even look good in preseason. I don't want want to get ahead of things, but he can throw the ball really well, and it's possible that he never had the right situation to succeed college.