Dan

I get most of my weather data from WeatherTap.com. Its a subscription site that our pilots use. It's quite accurate. However, as with all forecasts the farther out you go, the more the accuracy declines. I'm not banking on the weather, by any means. Although a blizzard would be a welcome site. I agree with many, our Bills generally play poorly in bad weather. But, I'll cling to any thing I can to help slow Brees down. I have little confidence our defense will. I like the one suggestion of cheering wildly if it does start to rain. How great would that be!

Ya think?

If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say TO really wants this year to work out in Buffalo. Whether its because he likes Buffalo and wants to stay or he wants to show all the other teams that he can play nice and wants out is up for debate. However, just as was suggested this past summer, TO needs to be on his best behavior here. He's probably decided that the best and most surest way to do this is to shut his mouth. So, in some sense, he truly is damned if he does, damned if he doesn't. If he talks after games, in the heat of the moment, there's no telling who he'll disparage - intentionally or not. If he doesn't talk, he gets everyone berating him for his self-imposed silence and suggesting that its a sign of his growing frustration with [insert whatever angle you want to pursue]. Someone needs to convince him that Bills fans don't care what he says nearly as much as we care about him catching TDs, blocking downfield, telling Jauron to go for it on 4th and inches, and generally just bringing some much needed excitement and attitude back to the Bills.

Agreed. One name to unite them all.

I'd say both. Right now the link is called "Buffalo Bills Forums" in both locations. Seems TBD Forums is better suited to tie in with the name of the site. Of course, I don't know all the other considerations.

I like it, FWIW. Seems sensical. Although I agree with DC Tom, "Two Bills Drive Forums" seems more appropriate seeing as how its the TBD website. Maybe that's too much text though, TBD Forums perhaps.

Currently: Showers likely. Highs around 70. Chance of rain 70 percent.

Very well said. When last season ended, I was firmly and passionately in the fire Jauron camp. However, he was retained. So, what choice do we have but to sit back, watch and hope for the best. I will say this... he's shown more in this young season than he has in the past 3 combined, IMO. The team may be 1-1; however, they've played very well and look like a competitive NFL team out there. I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm back in the Jauron's great camp. It'll take more than a couple of decent weeks to do that. But, the team looks solid right now. They're playing well. Can they finish the season like they're trying to learn to finish games, though? That's my question. So, for me, its still very much a wait and see with regards to Jauron's coaching in 2009. Until the end I'll hope for the best.

Seriously? Have you ever been to New Orleans?

Have any teams returned a kickoff/punt for a TD this year?

Dude brings his own bottle to a bar and you think he's gonna buy a game ticket?

Duh... he's got the "I've heard of him" argument going for him.

While I completely agree with you and I think it's important for any good coach to be aware of these statistics/trade offs (or at least have someone in the box that is, ala the Pats*). However, you're forgetting or ignoring the fact that football (and much of life) is more than a collection of statistics and probabilities. By the numbers, Jeff George should have been a Super Bowl winning QB. He wasn't. What's the numbers on a team scoring 3 times in 77 seconds? What does math say about Elway taking the Broncos 98 yards in a playoff game on the road. The Pats* went for it twice on 4th and short 2 weeks ago - failed on both attempts. There are plenty of circumstances where the reality defies the math. So what's a good coach to do... go with his gut, feel the flow of the game and react to the reality in front of him, IMO. Just for fun, there's also another line of reasoning to considering - Type 1 versus Type 2 errors. Both have negative outcomes; however, the Type 2 has a more detrimental negative outcome. Going for the FG in this situation minimizes the Type 2, which could be argued is what you want.

Championship!

This has been a concern of mine for years with this team, back to the JP (Losman) days (please lets not turn this into a JP/Trent thread). But, it seems all too often the players are coached so tightly that they can't just line up and play. Yes, we all know they have assignments and forgetting those assignments, leaving your gaps, etc. can get you into trouble; but at the same time, sometimes you have to let your players just do what they know how to do. Could it be that the coaching staff is finally beginning to loosen the reigns on the team?

I agree, it would have been nice to see a veteran lineman come in. However, please point to a good, veteran RT that we could have signed yesterday. Yes, Jones, Walker, and Runyan are all out there. But, we're not the only team in the league with injured linemen. So why hasn't anyone else picked them up? Maybe, just maybe, none of these guys are all that great any more. So, who else is out there? I'm asking... I don't know. With rumors yesterday about Roscoe being shopped, maybe Brandon did ask the Packers for a trade? Perhaps he asked several teams for a trade? But, Roscoe is still on the team. Could it be no one wanted to trade? I think the reason you have people piling on here is because you're making some pretty big assumptions that the Bills FO didn't even try to bring in a better player. When the reality is we don't know what they tried to do; we only know what they did do.

Excellent analysis, and greatly appreciated. However, the biggest weakness on the Bills is their passing defense. The Saints strength is their passing offense. On that alone, this is potentially huge mismatch in the Saints favor. So, if all things play out accordingly, the Saints pass effectively on us and put up points. The question then is can we match them in a shootout? I just don't feel comfortable in a shoot out game. So for me, this game comes down to... what do we do to slow down Brees and the passing game? I don't have the answer. I'm just thinking that, that will be the key to the game.

I've been wondering that since OTAs. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd think/hope he gets releases when Lynch comes back.

Interesting to say the least. This team certainly is full of surprises this year! Personally, I'm just glad they signed someone. I was beginning to think they planned to use Roscoe as a back up tackle. But, for the naysayers, look at it this way... If the Bills had drafted him in the 5th round (pick 157) instead of Nic Harris or in the the 6th (pick 183) rather than Cary Harris (the Pack selected him at pick 162); how would our draft have looked? He likely would have still entered the season on our practice squad only to be promoted this week. Would it suddenly be a better situation? I agree, my first thought was what decent veterans are out there? But seriously, after Runyan, which no one is seeming to rush to sign; who was out there to be a solid veteran backup?

I would agree. TO has changed the way the offense is defensed. Whether he's catching balls or not, his value to the offense is undeniable. It's been about 6 years since we've had 2 viable WRs to take safeties out of the box. I just hope he realizes that he doesn't have to catch 5-7 balls a game to be liked in Buffalo. But AVP may be the single biggest impact on our offense. Even with TO being here, I had zero confidence the coaching staff would use him properly. And throughout the preseason, although TO wasn't playing, we were seeing the same boring, predictable, pathetic offense we've seen for several years. Enter AVP. And literally overnight, the offense is everything it should be. It has rhythm. It's far less predictable. They're using plays to set up other plays. They actually appeared to game plan for the Bucs... wait did I just say that? I know its unthinkable. They're playing to the players strengths. It almost looks like a real NFL team out there. Back to the original point... Hangartner, as well as the entire O Line, has been a very pleasant surprise. I had little expectations for any of them. Deep down I didn't think they'd be as bad as some around here were portending. However, I think they've outperformed what I had expected to see. Of course, its only been 2 weeks and we have a long way to go; so I'm not getting my hopes up yet. But it is encouraging to see the line play the way it has.

The Colts need to learn how to tackle.

Jauron is that you? Seriously though, I don't know much about the Saints offense other than they're scoring points at will the first 2 weeks. Keeping Brees on the bench would certainly be a good thing to do. However, I'm not sure the no huddle is what's causing our defense to play so much the first 2 games. So, I'll say "no" to scrapping the no huddle. Mostly because I don't think that, in and of itself, will sustain long drives. Offensively, I'd say run first, pass second is typically how you control the clock and the tempo of the game. But, without Lynch it remains to be seen if we can run a ball control, grind it out, offensive game plan. But, I'd try. Defensively, my first thought is to blitz the heck out of Brees. But, as other postes have pointed out, he responded to the blitz pretty effectively this week. So, maybe that's not the answer? I guess I'd look at the first 2 games and do the exact opposite of what the Lions and Eagles did. In short, the Saints are a scoring machine right now. I have no idea how our defense can stop them. By far, the weakest link on our team has been the pass defense which bodes poorly for the Bills. Maybe the weather helps? Maybe Brees is due a poor game? Maybe Perry has a trick up his sleeve? It's gonna be great or horrible to watch.

Source: the Internets

I like Roscoe as much as the next guy, but lets be realistic... he's a marginal player in our offense. If we can trade him for a decent and, more importantly, a contributing player at a position of need (tackle or LB, currently); I'm all for it. If it were for a draft pick, I guess I'd have to see what the pick is and what we do with it. Good teams trade marginal players with a highly perceived value when the can. Bottom line, if his departure helps us get a player that contribute more frequently, it's only good for the team.

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