Dan

Players do it as part of the contractual process. They play, become free agents, then get to renegotiate or leave for a higher offer. But, that player full filled his commitment to the team, first. In the few cases when a player wants a new, higher contract a year or two after he signed; most all fans have called him out as well. Hughes, for example, didn't quit (even if he leaves this winter). He played out his contract, worked his butt off, now its up to the team to re-sign him. Marrone, on the other hand, is in the middle of a 4 yr contract. He didn't accomplish what he said he would - playoffs. He wanted to renegotiate and when the owner said not yet... he quit. What made that a viable option for him was his opt out clause, most people don't have a clause that says they get a year's pay if they quit. But, none the less, he took the money and ran. He didn't full fill the terms of his contract, nor did he accomplish his stated goals. He quit.

I became highly skeptical he would be successful the day he hired Hackett. Since then, I've been back and forth trying to find good in his tenure and withhold judgement. I officially disliked him the moment he quit on the team. That's when he finally put himself above the betterment of the team.

I agree... I wasn't completely in the camp that Marrone had to go. He did some good things here. But, he also did some bad things. If he wanted his offensive coaching staff to stay in place... with extensions.. well, good riddance. Because, the one thing I think we can all agree on is that no one on the offensive side of the ball should be given anything... players and coaches.

ok... that was funny.

This is entirely to rational, logical, sensical to ever actually happen. unfortunately.

Very good points. I' m no expert, but I've read in many places that nginx is the way to go. The other advice, I was just given by the guy that runs our web server is... go big on the ram. SQL uses that to store the data. Generally you want at least twice the memory as the total size of the MDF files on the hd (I'm not exactly sure what the MDF files are but that was his advice. Then he started suggesting tweaks based on the page life counter and... That's when I said good enough for now.

If you want full back up, don't you need 2 drives in raid 1 configuration? Maybe that's how you save $100/mo, not having the raid? SSD is definitely the way to go with hard drives, however I'm not sure if the speed of the HD is the cause of the slow down. I think... You want as much free memory as possible for your server cache settings, so is 200gb enough vs the trade off for higher speed. I'm not up to date on the latest server processors, but hasn't Sandy Bridge been replaced by Ivy? There might even be advances since Ivy. I can look into that, if needed. I think you get better performance with the newer generation stuff, but of course it costs more. So, my initial thought is what's more important the latest processor board or big, fast hard drives. As far as Dallas vs DC goes, I don't think it matters where the machine sits. As long as it has a good connection to the net and isn't going to be taken out by a hurricane/tornado/disaster, then I wouldn't worry too much about that, personally.

I keep reading this notion that if Orton started we would have won the Houston game. How is that? He couldn't beat a 2 win Raiders team or an average Dolphins team or KC. So why is it a forgone conclusion that he beats Houston? There wasn't a single game, that we were a lock to beat, with or without Orton. And this last statement was my issue with Orton all along. You need a top 10 QB in this league, there' still hope that EJ could develop and become good. But, Orton has proven over the course of his career that he's not. So, why play him all season? Because he gives us the best chance to win? And look what that got us... 9 wins, no playoffs, no QB, and here we sit in pretty much the exact same spot as last year. As I see it, playing Orton all year did nothing but give Marrone the opportunity to puff out his chest and say all he cares about is winning. And in the end, it just wasted a year. Because today our offense is in the exact same position as last year.. With no viable QB on the roster. awesome

Exactly... He's not playing well behind that same OLine that people say is so bad you can't judge our OC's play calling. Yet, a RB is supposed to be fine running behind it. Not to mention.. Has he really looked that much worse than any of the other 3 RBs on the roster?

So Orton misses training camp, yet plays for 12 straight weeks, and people wanna give Hackett and him a pass because he needs to be given a chance. CJ just missed half the season and in his 2nd game back is expected to be a game changer? If he leaves, we'll be watching him score TDs ala Lynch. Yay us.

Earlier this season with Manning struggling and injured and a poor running game, the Broncos adapted by using an extra lineman and getting their RB some holes. They won several games with this mid-season offensive adjustment and are currently on the cusp of being the #2 seed. The Bills struggling to run the ball and with a struggling QB, did.... Nothing different. No adjustments to their offense at all. They loses a couple of winnable games and are currently cleaning out their lockers for the season. Coaching staffs that can adjust during the season and during a game are what good teams have.

I think you mean bench... Not couch. Ultimately, I have no problem with Marrone staying. But he also has to recognize that the offense is not NFL caliber and take some ownership of the horrible offense... That we've seen for 2 consecutive years. He needs to replace Hackett with someone that's not learning on the job... Something he used as an excuse for not playing EJ. If Hackett and this offense remains status quo, I'm pretty sure next year is wasted again.

That explains a lot!! And makes total sense

What pissed me off about today.... We finally ran an end around reverse to Watkins. and We finally motioned Freddie out of the backfield, spread the defense out and then ran Boobie up the middle for a TD on 3rd and short. 2 plays on our 2nd scoring drive. 2 plays I'be waited all season to see! So why did it take all season to bring out these two, well-designed plays?

We're staring 8-8 right in the face, and can only hope for 9 wins if the Pats rest 3/4 of their team. Forgive me for not being all giddy over finally getting 1 more win than the Jauron years. We're not the best D in the league. Currently, we're #4 overall; 5th against the pass, 13th against the run. Yeah, we're good but still not good enough to stop a bad team on 3rd and 22 when the game if not entire season was on the line. I really appreciate your infinite optimism, Promo. I do. But, I just can't look at our offense over the last 2 years and realistically expect them to get it fixed. Sure, I guess we could sign Rodgers and an all star cast for the line. But, until that happens, please don't hold it against me for being skeptical with our current coaches' ability to coach on the same level as the best in the league.

Week 17: Buffalo Bills vs New England Patriots Sunday, December 28, 2014 at 1:00pm TV Network: CBS (TV Map) Announcers: Spero Dedes, Solomon Wilcots DirecTV: 713 Bills Radio: On the call: John Murphy (play by play), Mark Kelso (analyst), Sal Capaccio (sideline) Flagship: Buffalo – WGR550 (550AM); Toronto - 590 The Fan; Rochester - WCMF (96.5) and WROC (950AM); Syracuse - WKRL (100.9/WKLL 94.9) Sirius/XM: 108 (Internet 803) ================================================================= Game Preview: The New England Patriots have Super Bowl aspirations every season, and clinching the top seed in the AFC playoffs is simply an expectation fulfilled as they pursue their ultimate goal. New England (12-3) did its part by surviving with a 17-16 victory at the New York Jets last week, and it wrapped up home-field advantage throughout the conference playoffs when Cincinnati beat Denver on Monday night. Buffalo (8-7) was eliminated from playoff contention for the 15th straight season with last week's 26-24 loss at Oakland, extending the longest active playoff drought in the NFL. Read more at ESPN game preview... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jim Harbaugh leads top 10 head-coaching candidates QB Index: Which QBs will be available in 2015? NFL.com Preview: Bills at Patriots NFL.com Game Center Team Stats: Bills Patriots Total Yds/Game.... 321.9 372.5 Total Rush............. 91.9 107.4 Total Pass............. 230.0 265.1 Points/Game.......... 21.7 30.6 Time of Poss.......... 29.8 29.5 ---------------------------------------------- Yds/Gm Allowed... 315.7 349.2 Rush Yards........... 105.8 104.3 Pass Yards........... 209.9 244.9 Points Allowed........ 18.7 19.7 Source: NFL.com Overall Offense: Bills - 24th; Patriots - 10th Overall Defense: Bills - 4th; Patriots - 13th MatchUp Comparison via SportingCharts.com Injury Report: Buffalo Bills NAME POSITION INJURY WED. THU. FRI. GAME STATUS Carpenter, Dan K Right Groin LP LP LP Probable Dareus, Marcell DT Knee DNP DNP DNP Doubtful Gilmore, Stephon CB Concussion DNP DNP DNP Doubtful Williams, Aaron S Hip LP LP LP Probable Source: BuffaloBills.com New England Patriots NAME POSITION INJURY WED. THU. FRI. GAME STATUS Sebastian Vollmer T Back Limited Participation in Practice Questionable Tom Brady QB Ankle Full Participation in Practice Probable Jonas Gray RB Ankle Did Not Participate In Practice Out Chandler Jones DE Hip Limited Participation in Practice Questionable Danny Aiken LS Finger Limited Participation in Practice Questionable Shane Vereen RB Ankle Limited Participation in Practice Questionable Brandon Browner CB Groin Limited Participation in Practice Questionable Dont'a Hightower LB Shoulder Limited Participation in Practice Questionable Rob Ninkovich DE Heel Limited Participation in Practice Questionable Alfonzo Dennard CB Hamstring Limited Participation in Practice Out Brandon LaFell WR Shoulder Limited Participation in Practice Questionable Kyle Arrington CB Hamstring Limited Participation in Practice Questionable Julian Edelman WR Thigh Limited Participation in Practice Questionable Jamie Collins LB Hip Limited Participation in Practice Questionable Dan Connolly G Knee Limited Participation in Practice Questionable Chris White LB Ankle Limited Participation in Practice Questionable LeGarrette Blount RB Shoulder Limited Participation in Practice Questionable Cameron Fleming T Ankle Limited Participation in Practice Questionable Source: NFL.com Practice Status Game Status DNP = Did Not Participate in Practice Out = Player will not play LP = Limited Participation - Less than 100% of normal reps Doubtful = 25% chance a player will play FP = Full Participation - 100% of a player's normal repetitions Questionable = 50% chance a player will play Out = Player will not play Probable = 75% chance a player will play (-) = Not Listed = No practice status available (-) = Not Listed - No game status available The Odds: Line: Patriots -3.5 Over/Under: 44 Source: The LineMakers Up to date lines... if you're in Vegas. My Thoughts on the Game: Well here we sit at the the precipice of another off season. Once again, we're not in the playoffs. Once again, we leave the season with nearly as many question marks as we had when we entered. Once again, we have a bitter taste in our mouth as the Patriots move on to be the darlings of the NFL. Once again, we hope... for next year. So, who really cares about this game? The Players say they do. The Coaches say they do. But, will any of them actually show up and play like they care? Will they play like they should have last week. Did the coaching staff put in overtime, sleeping in their offices figuring our how to beat the Patriots? Do they really care? I guess we'll see soon enough. I'll be watching because: 1. It's the last time I get to see the Bills play till next August. I hate this time of year for that. 2. Just to see if anyone on this team looks like they give two cents about their jobs. My guess is we'll see the same boring game plan and apathetic offensive effort we've seen all season. Then afterwards, we'll get boring coach speak about executing and watching some tape, just before they all go home and relax knowing they don't have to pretend to work anymore for a while. 3. I want to see if Hackett gets fired.. like right as the team is lining up to punt from the 40 in the 4th quarter as they're down by 3 scores ..fired. 4. It's what I do. I watch the Buffalo Bills. I love my team. I can't help it. Go Bills.

If there are no changes to the coaching staff... It's time to tune out, because there is absolutely no reason to believe that the status quo will suddenly figure out how to put together an NFL caliber offense.

That's what it seems some people expect as unrealistic as it is.

At that time, I was out of Graduate School and in my first job in New Jersey. My wife and I had traveled home for the holidays, like always. I saw the game at my parent's house in Tennessee with my family. I made the bold prediction, prior to the game, that the winner would be in the Super Bowl. We went from the highest of elation to the lowest of despair in those few moments. The closest to that feeling was our first Super Bowl, as we all stood in my parents house holding hands in hope and prayer. Since then I've moved 3 times, changed jobs twice, gotten divorced, seen nieces and nephews grow up to get married and graduate college, my parents have retired, and our Bills' fandom is met with a mixture of joke and sympathy. It truly feels like a lifetime ago, so much has changed in my life and the world. And, yet I still get Bills' gear every Christmas and hope for a better next year. It's gotten to the point of absurdity what we endure as Bills fans... To be this bad for this long.

Had we won out and finished 10-6, missing the playoffs due to tie breakers, I could agree that we were a playoff caliber team that needs tweaks and a little luck next year. But, as it turns out, we're pretty much a rock solid 8-8 team that's missing the playoffs because they still got a ways to go.

Precisely my point. We played right to the Raiders' strength. And as bad as that is, its not the first time we did that in a game. And, I also agree, there's ways to create running lanes and design around poor guards. But knowing that guard is the weakest position on the line, we continually and repeatedly ran right behind the guard. That's what I don't get. Honestly, it made me think Marrone told Whaley he needed different players; Whaley said these are fine; so Marrone said fine... I'll show you how bad they are. It sounds stupid even as I type it, but it's baffling how bad we got and how little we adjusted to compensate for how bad we were. Why have all those sub standard TEs activated and playing? Why have a kick off specialist only to have him kick it to the goal line forcing a run back? Why bench a viable red zone threat when we can't score in the red zone? Why not try to score before the half? Why bench Urbik to start the season? There's so many questions over the course of the season that were never answered and probably never wil be.

This is one of the reasons I fault coaching and scheme. The FO addressed the line with draft picks and FA, and 4/5 of the line returned from 2013... a line that wasn't that bad. Yet, Marrone and company fiddled with it all off season right into the regualr season. They moved players around, switched positions, and basically screwed the whole thing up. So, although we had 4/5 of the line return, we only had 2 players playing the same position. Marrone said you don't need continuity, you need your 5 best guys. The results say he was wrong. Add to all that, Hackett's predictable game calling and planning that gives defenses a leg up on what we're doing and you have a recipe for failure. I don't think anyone has ever said that our line is full of probowlers or that we're all good at the QB spot. But, Marrone and the entire offensive staff seemed to do everything possible to highlight every weakness, every week. There were times, I actually wondered... are they screwing this up on purpose to prove a point to someone? Because, I honestly can't see doing some of the things they did... over and over again.

What did we have... 5 games in London? Stupid. Thursday Night Football. All season long? Why? Crappy Refs that enforce the increasingly subjective rules inconsitently that completely alters the outcome of games, usually in favor of large market teams? The same half dozen teams as the Nationally televised games every week. Stop playing favorites. Fantasy football.

Yeah it would totally suck to have all the players hate the coach while they're playing in their 3rd consecutive conference championship game. I'd much rather everyone like our coach! I'm not saying Harbaugh should come here or that he would even have success here, but we clearly need to upgrade the coaching staff and someone with his track record could be nothing but positive for our team of under achievers.

Hogan hasn't necessarily improved; he's just gotten more playing time. Prior to this season, he's hardly seen the field Has the offense improved with him in there? Henderson is a rookie. So its hard to say he's improved. Is he better than he was in week 1? Maybe but he's been somewhat inconsistent as well. Dixon wasn't on the team last year. Nor was he a starter prior to Spiller getting hurt. So, it's hard to say how much he improved, but again, has the offense or running game really improved with him in there? Woods is the only player you mentioned that has 2 years on this team. CAREER STATS Season Team Receiving Rushing Fumbles G GS Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD FUM Lost 2014 Buffalo Bills 15 15 61 660 10.8 37 4 -- -- -- -- -- 1 1 2013 Buffalo Bills 14 14 40 587 14.7 57 3 2 16 8.0 13 0 -- -- TOTAL 101 1,247 12.3 57 7 2 16 8.0 13 0 1 1 So, he has more yards this year, but his average is down 4yds per catch. So, I'd say its largely a wash as to whether he's improved. He's about the same in my opinion.