Dan

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.

The power of TBD! Please use it responsibly.

Maybe it's not a surprise, but that does not mean it was deserved either. A person has his possessions in their house (presumably with locked doors), in a gated community and if all your possessions are not further locked in safes you deserve to be robbed? Stupid.

Agreed that was a huge decision and play. It was so completely anit-Jauron that I wondered if he was at the bathroom. I was hoping he'd go for it just because its something he's never done before.

Absolutely incorrect. A short FG is usually considered sure points. Running a play is where you have fumbles, interceptions, injured players, changes in momentum, etc. Yes, bad things can happen on a FG attempt, but the odds are far more likely that a short FG is going to result in 3pts. I had no problem with the decision. Get off the field with a positive drive that ended in points. Stretch the lead to 2 touchdowns. All positive things. Go for it and don't make it... its a touchdown and FG game and their getting momentum. All negative things.

Excellent points. Perhaps all the young players are finally coming into their own? The Ellison comment sticks out to me though. Our linebackers typically begin running away from the LOS as fast as they can as soon as the ball is snapped. They get out of position and seem to always arrive late to the play. In the MNF opener and especially yesterday, Perry had Ellison and Mitchell blitzing the passer and generally running toward the LOS with most snaps. And, IMO, they both looked considerably better. I really hope he's come to the realization that our LBs are not good in coverage. Send them after the QB (taking out the RB along the way) and let all those highly drafted DBs earn their checks. Call it whatever defense you want, but its been considerably more effective - at least to my eyes.

What are all those people doing milling around that big entrance to the stadium? Don't they go to watch the game?

Agreed. I can even live with the INT. All QBs throw them. But you have to make the defense play the whole field. That's what the long ball does for you.

With all due respect, prior to this game Trent did everything possible to earn that nickname. Fortunately, he and AVP made it an emphasis to throw the ball deep today and it clearly worked. Not only did it help us today, but it'll give teams a lot more to think about in the coming weeks. Just as all Defensive Coord.s have to think about screens to Jackson, now they have to consider long balls to TO and Evans. It was a great game plan. I especially liked the considerable use of 5 receivers/empty back field in the 4th. It worked quite well.

Screw sending Mitchell into coverage - just send him after the QB all game long. He put some serious heat on Leftwitch today!