Dan

I think its also important for people to realize that these guys aren't machines or computer programs summed up into a Madden score that produce at the same level consistently. Some players take longer for the lights to go on. Some players experience the "Sophomore Slump". Some rookies hit "the wall". Sometimes guys just have a bad day. In this "now" generation, too many times people expect results immediately and every time. But, the real world just doesn't work that way. My guess with McLovin, it's taken a couple of years for him to adjust, combined with a new coach(es) that's doing a better job putting him in a place to win, combined with better overall talent around him. It's not a good answer because you can't quantify it and it flies in the face of cutting a high draft pick after his 3rd preseason game because he's not getting HOF consideration yet, but it's all I got.

ok... now this thread has officially become a comedy routine. lol

As I noted in the Pre-Game thread, I thought EJ was the key to this game. He had to bounce back because you just knew the Jets were going to stop our running game. Turns out... EJ did! He was steady, consistent, safe with the ball, all while taking some good shots down field. He even hit on the deep, side line pass! You really can't ask for more from your QB than what EJ gave us today. I'll also add that although we're still entirely too predicatable on offense, Hackett did a much better job of mixing the play calls up to keep the D guessing. Oh and Kiko? The guy is an absolute beast. He was all over the field! It seemed every play he was somewhere near the ball carrier. It's rare to see any LB play as well as he did, let alone a rookie. Wow! just an impressive player. Now, let's just hope to see them do this a little more consistently. But today was the type of game that gives us hope. Maybe these aren't the same old Bills, afterall.

shakin it up!!! woooo

Week 11: New York Jets at Buffalo Bills Sunday, November 17, 2013 at 1:00pm TV Network: CBS (TV Map) Announcers: Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts DirecTV: 704 Bills Radio: On the call: John Murphy (play by play), Mark Kelso (analyst), Joe Buscaglia (sideline) Flagship: Buffalo – WGR550 (550AM); Toronto - Sportsnet 590 The Fan; Rochester - WCMF (96.5) and WROC (950AM); Syracuse - WTKW (99.5/WTKV 105.5) Sirius: 108 ================================================================= Game Preview: Projected by many to finish near the bottom of the AFC, New York (5-4) has instead managed to hold its own. After watching several contending teams lose last weekend, the Jets come out of their bye with a one-game lead for the second wild-card spot. The Jets have to be feeling good about posting back-to-back wins given their recent domination of the Bills (3-7). New York, which won 27-20 on Sept. 22 behind Smith's season-high 331 passing yards and three total TDs, have averaged 29.3 points in taking seven of eight from Buffalo. Read more at ESPN game preview... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scouting Report: Week 11 (from Buffalo Bills.com Chris Brown) NFL.com Video Preview 'Playbook': New York Jets vs. Buffalo Bills NFL.com Game Center Team Stats: Bills Jets Total Yds/Game.... 332.9 331.2 Total Rush.............140.7 129.0 Total Pass............. 192.2 202.2 Points/Game.......... 19.9 18.8 Time of Poss.......... 27.7 32.1 ---------------------------------------------- Yds/Gm Allowed... 355.9 325.2 Rush Yards........... 117.3 73.8 Pass Yards........... 238.6 251.4 Points Allowed........ 25.9 25.7 Source: NFL.com Injury Report: Buffalo Bills NAME POSITION INJURY WED. THU. FRI. GAME STATUS Johnson, Stevie WR Groin DNP DNP DNP Out Searcy, Da'Norris S Hamstring DNP LP LP Probable Williams, Kyle DL Achilles DNP FP FP Probable Woods, Robert WR Ankle DNP DNP DNP Out Source: BuffaloBills.com New York Jets NAME POSITION INJURY WED. THU. FRI. GAME STATUS Allen, Antonio S Concussion FP FP FP Probable Colon, Willie OL Calf FP FP FP Probable Cribbs, Josh WR Knee FP FP FP Probable Cromartie, Antonio CB Hip FP FP FP Probable Cumberland, Jeff TE Concussion FP FP FP Probable Douzable, Leger DT Illness DNP FP FP Probable Ellis, Kenrick DT Back LP LP LP Probable Green, Alex RB Hamstring LP FP FP Probable Hill, Stephen WR Foot/Knee LP FP FP Probable Holmes, Santonio WR Foot/Hamstring LP LP LP Probable Ivory, Chris RB Knee FP FP FP Probable Kerley, Jeremy WR Elbow DNP DNP DNP Out McIntyre, Garrett LB Knee DNP DNP DNP Out Pace, Calvin LB Hip FP FP FP Probable Salas, Greg WR Knee FP FP FP Probable Sudfeld, Zach TE Knee FP FP FP Probable Walls, Darrin CB Shoulder FP FP FP Probable Winslow, Kellen TE Knee LP DNP LP Probable Source: NewYorkJets.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: Bills -1 Over/Under: 41 Source: The Linemakers Up to date lines... if you're in Vegas. My Take on the Matchup: Well, here we go again. Another week with an opponent that, at least on paper, we match up well against. So why do I feel like we're going to get crushed? Oh yeah, because the Jets have mostly dominated the Bills during the last few years. And after last week's abysmal performance, it's just hard to imagine anything different. EJ has gotten a lot of criticism after his game last week, and rightfully so. Hence, for me, he is my key to this week's game. It's all about EJ. How will he bounce back? Will he respond to the critics with fire or ice? Will he somehow throw better in colder, wetter conditions (assuming there's rain)? Can he lead this team to a divisional win against a team that thinks they're making a playoff run? In all likelihood, this game should be one to favor the running backs. CJ is probably itching to get out there and atone for his lackluster game, as well. However, you can expect Rex to throw everything he has at stopping Freddie and CJ. So, EJ is going to have his chances; he has to capitalize. Do that and our offense has a chance. Otherwise, it's could be another long day. So, what will be watching? 1. EJ. Is he the QB of the future? Lay another egg like last week, and it's gonna be hard for this fan to continue with that hope. 2. EJ. Can he throw the ball down the field? Will he ever keep a deep, side line pass in bounds? 3. Marrone and his fun bunch. This is the second time facing a divisional team. Will they have the team prepared? Did they learn anything the first time? Anything at all this season? We need to see adjustments in the game plan and situational game adjustments. Is this the same old Bills or do we finally have a coach doing something to get the win? 4. Ed Reed. If Bills' history serves as a precursor, he'll play like the Ed Reed of old, have all the pundits claim he's back, only to suck the rest of the year and retire. 5. EJ. Can he handle the blitz by doing more than checking down? Go Bills!!

I clicked on the Make A Wish site yesterday, and got an error message... the site had crashed due to high volume! So, yeah, I think it definitely helped motivate people to donate. As I understand it, Make A Wish survives on donations. The wishes are granted through a combination of donated services and money donated to pay for it all. In a couple of the articles I read, there was an outpouring of people wanting to donate their time and services - from vehicles, to hotel, to makeup artists, actors to participate, on so on. I would guess the City donated some or most of the police escort and such. Granted, I'm sure the fact that it went viral and they had crowds reaching 10,000+ was something they didn't expect (and cost more). But, I would also guess Make A Wish paid for some of the stuff as well. One of my favorite pics, online, from the event. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BZJFN4fCEAAGBzh.png It was pretty darn incredible!

I agree. Although I'm not ready to throw in the towel on Marrone just yet, he makes several bad in-game decisions each week. This punt was certainly one. The overall red zone play calling certainly qualifies. But, some of the time managment is bad, as well. Prior to the end of the half, we had the ball at about the 45 with1:20ish left (as I recall). It was 3rd and 6. We needed to convert, if for no other reason than just to not give the Steelers another shot with time on the clock. But, rather than use a time out and make sure the rookie is settled down and the right call is made. They let it go, rush back to the line, and fail on 3rd down, punt and give the ball back to the Steelers after taking about a minute off the clock. Just bad. I agree the players need to execute. But, I contend that the coaching can make that easier by calling a time out and making sure everyone knows what's going on. Marrone has done some good things with this team. But he's also done some bad things as well. His in-game situational awareness is amateurish. And it's just not improving as the season progresses. Nothing on the offense is improving. It's like he and Hackett developed an offenseive game plan last summer and they're sticking with it, no matter how many defenses slow it down. The offense, as a whole, is stagnating as each successive teams gets more film on it. In his defense, Moorman's leg was probsbly getting pretty tired after what.. his 18th punt at that point?

Last year Spiller was one of the best backs in the league, a rising star. This year he has yet to paly with any consistency. I ask everyone, has CJ changed? Or has the coaching staff changed? Where is the real problem? Hackett is in over his head and the offense has suffered all season because of it. Marrone even said as much last week when he said they had to get better at calling plays in the red zone. Did they this week? Outside of not having a good QB on the roster, the single biggest problem facing this team is the coaching staff. Week in and week out, the defense is put in a position to succeed, to take advantage of their strengths. They don't always make the play, because some are rookies and they're still learning. Conversely, every week the offense is put in the worst possible positions for the talent on the field. Sometimes, they still make the play because of a blown coverage, or just good indiviual talent. But, more often than not... our team is being out coached. So, rail on the players all you want, but everyone knows you don't stack the box and ask a RB like Spiller to dive up the middle. Everyone, but Hackett apparently. He's taken fairly productive palyers and continually managed to misuse them in the best ways.

Agreed. Keep drafting QBs until you get a true starter. If more than one develops, you have someone to trade. But, as long as we have QB play like we've had this season, especially today, we're just wasting seasons.

Prior to the game, I was looking for several things: 1. Could the coaches improve their play calling and red zone efficiency? Turns out, we didn't get many opportunities but on the one shot in the 1st quarter, it was more of the same. Run, run, pass. Marrone and Hacket just have to improve. I truly don't understand why they haven't. 2. EJ Manuel, would he improve and out play his backups? Turns out he would look abyssmal. I don't know if its Hacket going ultra conservative to "protect" EJ or if EJ just plain sucks. But either way, this was not the same offense we've seen the last couple weeks. It was pathetic. EJ absolutley has to see something more than 10yds down the field. And if he can't, he should be benched. If the coaches won't let him, they should be fired. It's really that simple because what we saw today was not an NFL level offense. 3. Marcus Easley. Turns out he didn't get many opportunities today, either. Oh well. 4. The D line had to get pressure on Big Ben, and they did. But they did it at the expense of stopping the run. The Steelers put up 136yds on the ground today, when they had been averaging about 73yds/game. What good is stopping the pass, if you let them run up and down the field? 5. Kick offs. Well, it seems the pathetic offense made sure we didn't kickk off too much. In short, I saw several areas we needed to improve upon, as it turns out they failed miserably in all areas. It was a team loss. From the coaches on down, this team sucked it up today. Yeah, the offense and EJ out sucked everyone else, but it really was a team wide sucktitude.

Why we have to have sily notions like this after every loss? You're right, Stevie is in no way the reason for our woes. So why continue to rag on him? You don't make a bad team better by dumping the only good players you have.

Week 10: Buffalo Bills at Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday, November 10, 2013 at 1:00pm TV Network: CBS (TV Map) Announcers: Marv Albert and Rich Gannon DirecTV: 710 Bills Radio: On the call: John Murphy (play by play), Mark Kelso (analyst), Joe Buscaglia (sideline) Flagship: Buffalo – WGR550 (550AM); Toronto - Sportsnet 590 The Fan; Rochester - WCMF (96.5) and WROC (950AM); Syracuse - WTKW (99.5/WTKV 105.5) Sirius: 117 ================================================================= Game Preview: While Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is looking for something to turn around his team's disappointing season, the Buffalo Bills hope rookie quarterback EJ Manuel is healthy enough to help them get back on track. Both teams will be trying to avoid a third straight defeat when the Steelers look to continue their dominance over the visiting Bills on Sunday. Buffalo has dropped four straight and eight of nine to the Steelers, including playoffs. The Bills, who last played in Pittsburgh in 2007, are 2-9 there and have been outscored 136-40 during a five-game regular-season and playoff road skid in the series. Read more at ESPN game preview... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scouting Report: Week 10 (from Buffalo Bills.com Chris Brown) NFL.com Video Preview Tunch's Keys to Steelers vs Bills NFL.com Game Center Teams Stats: Bills Steelers Total Yds/Game.... 344.7 341.8 Total Rush.............145.8 73.6 Total Pass............. 198.9 268.1 Points/Game.......... 21.0 19.5 Time of Poss.......... 28.0 30.4 ---------------------------------------------- Yds/Gm Allowed... 362.1 341.2 Rush Yards........... 115.2 131.2 Pass Yards........... 246.9 210.0 Points Allowed........ 26.2 26.0 Source: NFL.com Injury Report: Buffalo Bills NAME POSITION INJURY WED. THU. FRI. GAME STATUS Goodwin, Marquise WR Hamstring DNP LP FP Probable Lawson, Manny LB Non-injury related - - DNP Questionable Lewis, Thad QB Ribs FP FP FP Probable Manuel, EJ QB Knee FP FP FP Probable Williams, Kyle DL Achilles DNP FP FP Probable Woods, Robert WR Ankle DNP DNP DNP Doubtful Source: BuffaloBills.com Pittsburgh Steelers NAME POSITION INJURY WED. THU. FRI. GAME STATUS Adams, Mike OT Ribs - - DNP Questionable Beachum, Kelvin OG Knee LP LP FP Probable DeCastro, David OG Ankle FP FP FP Probable Gilbert, Marcus T Ankle LP LP LP Questionable Heyward, Cameron DE Knee FP FP FP Probable Miller, Heath TE Not injury related LP FP FP Probable Taylor, Ike CB Concussion DNP FP FP Probable Velasco, Fernando C/G Thigh LP FP FP Probable Wheaton, Markus WR Finger FP FP FP Probable Williams, Vince LB Concussion DNP LP FP Probable Source: Steelers.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: Steelers -3 even Over/Under: 43.5 Source: The Linemakers Up to date lines... if you're in Vegas. My Take on the Matchup: Finally, we get an "easy" game. The Steelers are 2-6, for a reason. They rank pretty low in all the key offensive and defensive categories. The 2 teams actually stack up pretty similar, just as our records indicate. The primary difference being in the running and passing games. The Steelers pass better than they run, while the Bills run better than they pass. This week, hopefully, the match up favors Buffalo with EJ getting back in the lineup and CJ being as healthy as he has all season. If we can continue our season average on the ground while stepping up the passing game, the game might be a good one for us. Assuming EJ can do that, the key to this game, therefore, becomes turnovers and red zone efficiency. We simply have to win the turn over battle. As good as the defense played last week, they didn't generate any turnovers. This week, we need to force a couple. Also, when/if we get down inside the 10 yard line, we need touch downs. Not FGs and certainly not turnovers. With that in mind, I'll be watching: 1. Red Zone play calling. Marrone said this week they need to make changes in this part of their game. Will they? Will we see more creative play calls. 2. EJ Manuel. He's the big question mark. I'm sure his knee will be fine. But, will his play be an improvement over Thad's? Thad and Tuel, even, connected on some deep balls, can EJ? The last time I remember seeing him throw deep, it was all sideline passes 5 yards out of bounds. Will he actually look better than he did in week 4? Or did the time off set his development back? It's gonna be exciting to see how this kid looks. 3. Marcus Easley. With Woods injured, will he finally get some significant playing time? If so, can he out play Hogan, like so many people here think he will. 4. Our defensive line. The Steelers line is not good at all which should make for a good game for Mario, Kyle and the boys. Hopefully, they're pumped and steamroll Big Ben on the way to a dominating performance. 5. Kickoffs. Is it just me, or are the Bills the only team in the league that can't consistently kick the ball through the end zone? Are they purposely kicking it short? I don't get it at all. Go Bills!!

This is, perhaps, a very appropriate perspective. As a rookie, he expected a lot of the language and behavior. He may have thought it was a little over the top, but being a rookie he figured it was all part of the "ritual". But then, it continued into his 2nd year. So what do you do now? He's under contract. The guy giving him the most trouble is a captain and has full support of the coaches. What can he do, other than try to laugh it off and hope they move on to other players? Eventually, he did all he felt he could... just quit. This whole situation just screams lack of leadership. The team put Incognito in a position of leadership and that decision, in and of itself, tells you all you need to know about the team and the lack of leaders in the locker room. Stevie Johnson said it the other day, you have fun but you also have to have respect. In the Dolphin locker room there seems to be no respect for other players, for the team, for the colors on their jerseys.

I can not think of one good reason why a QB shouldn't wear a brace on both knees at all times. Why is it not mandatory? (for the OLine as well)

So if the Steelers really want to get back on the winning track, they should sit Big Ben and promote up their Practice Squad QB. Why don't more coaches do this? The Packers don't knw how lucky they are!!

I don't think the league conspires against the Bills, in particular. But, I do think they conspire to promote favorable story lines to sell tickets and ratings for big game match ups. And having KC undefeated going into the Denver game is a big deal. Every Sunday, there are multiple calls in multiple games that favor a better storyline outcome. These calls don't necessarily ensure any particular team wins, but they certainly make it easier. The Bills being in a small market, with no good rivalry, with no good story to promote ratings, get the short end of most all of these highly subjective calls. Ask any true Denver fan and they'll tell you all about the number of favorable calls the Broncos are getting this year.

I have all the hope in the world for Marrone and Hacket, but each and every week I see mistakes that they just need to stop making. The pick 6 play, for example. Let's ignore the fact that, that was about the 3rd time we've had a 1st and goal, only to draw the entire defense into the line of scrimmage, bunch everyone in and try to run Freddie off center only to pass later. Let's just concentrate on the 3rd down play. You have a rookie, you need to make things easy for him and set him and the team up for success. What do you do? Well, you could run again? That didn't work the first 2 times, so I have no problem passing. But, what kinda pass? A lot of teams might call the corner fade route. Why? Because the fade has a little chance of something bad happening. You have one read, then you loft the ball to the back corner, either your guy catches it or it falls out of bounds. Maybe you roll the QB out to his right? Why? Because it cuts the field in half, keeps a right-handed QB in a position to throw, trail a receiver in the endzone, a TE underneath. The QB throws it, runs it, or tosses it out of bounds. High reward, low risk, again, No, our coaches called one of the most difficult passes right into the teeth of the defense. Now, maybe that wasn't what Tuel was supposed to do? In the end, we don't really know. But, from my couch, it looked like a poor play call given all the circumstances of the game. And that's on the couching staff. They have to learn from their mistakes, just as the players. I hope they can.

If you remember Hobert, then your memory is severely flawed. There is no way Tuel played worse than Billy Joe, among several other QBs over the years. Yes, Tuel made some bad throws and bad decisions. But, as a rookie in his first ever start, you should expect that. To villainize the guy into the worst QB to ever wear a Bills uni is completely inaccurate. Because for as much bad as he may have done, he also did some pretty good (59yd TD, Woods TD drop, several other nice passes dropped, blocked for CJ). If anything, he was asked to do entirely too much, but I guess that's on him as well.

Same problem here

Bottom line... the Bills will be the Bills until they get a top tier QB. I agree, keep drafting until you get one. I like EJ, like many do, but at this point, he's very much unproven. There's little reason to believe he's our franchise QB, until he actually proves it week in and week out. Until he does, or someone else does, we'll see more of the games we saw yesterday.

Week 9: Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills Sunday, November 3, 2013 at 1:00pm TV Network: CBS (TV Map) Announcers: Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf DirecTV: 704 Bills Radio: On the call: John Murphy (play by play), Mark Kelso (analyst), Joe Buscaglia (sideline) Flagship: Buffalo – WGR550 (550AM); Toronto - Sportsnet 590 The Fan; Rochester - WCMF (96.5) and WROC (950AM); Syracuse - WTKW (99.5/WTKV 105.5) Sirius: 91 ================================================================= Game Preview: As the Kansas City Chiefs keep their strong start in perspective, the Buffalo Bills hope to turn things around by knocking off the NFL's only undefeated team. The visiting Chiefs look go 9-0 for the first time in 10 years when they try to end their recent struggles against the Bills on Sunday. The Chiefs expect to be seriously challenged by a Bills team that's won five of the last six meetings and both in the last two seasons by a combined 76-24. Buffalo, though, has dropped three of four and is dealing with a host of injuries as it tries to continue that dominance in the series. One of the biggest injury issues is Thad Lewis' sore ribs, which could keep the QB on the sideline. Read more at ESPN game preview... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scouting Report: Week 9 (from Buffalo Bills.com Chris Brown) NFL.com Video Preview 'Playbook': Kansas City Chiefs vs. Buffalo Bills NFL.com Game Center Teams Stats: Bills Chiefs Total Yds/Game.... 329.0 330.8 Total Rush.............133.9 122.0 Total Pass.............195.1 208.8 Points/Game.......... 22.0 24.0 Time of Poss.......... 27.7 32.5 ---------------------------------------------- Yds/Gm Allowed... 381.1 309.0 Rush Yards........... 117.8 103.2 Pass Yards........... 263.4 205.8 Points Allowed........ 26.6 12.2 Source: NFL.com Injury Report: Buffalo Bills NAME POSITION INJURY WED. THU. FRI. GAME STATUS Goodwin, Marquise WR Elbow LP FP FP Probable Hogan, Chris WR Back - DNP DNP Questionable Jackson, Fred RB Knee DNP FP FP Probable Johnson, Stevie WR Hip DNP LP FP Probable Lawson, Manny LB Hamstring LP LP FP Probable Lewis, Thad QB Ribs DNP DNP LP Doubtful Manuel, EJ QB Knee LP LP LP Out Smith, Brandon DB Illness - LP - - Spiller, C.J. RB Ankle LP LP FP Probable Urbik, Kraig OL Knee LP FP FP Probable Williams, Kyle DL Achilles DNP FP FP Probable Williams, Mario DL Hip - - FP Probable Source: BuffaloBills.com Kansas City Chiefs NAME POSITION INJURY WED. THU. FRI. GAME STATUS Avery, Donnie WR Shoulder FP FP FP Probable Bowe, Dwayne WR Groin FP LP FP Probable Catapano, Mike DE Ankle Out Out Out Out Charles, Jamaal RB Knee DNP LP FP Probable Fasano, Anthony TE Knee/Ankle LP LP FP Probable Fisher, Eric OT Knee/Back FP FP FP Probable Lewis, Kendrick S Ankle FP FP FP Probable McGrath, Sean TE Knee FP FP FP Probable Moses, Dezman LB Toe FP FP FP Probable Parker, Ron DB Toe LP FP FP Probable Sherman, Anthony RB Knee/Calf FP FP FP Probable Source: KCChiefs.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: Chiefs -4 Over/Under: 40.5 Source: The Linemakers Up to date lines... if you're in Vegas. My Take on the Matchup: Another tough game this week against what I think is our 7th opponent with a top 5 defense. The Chiefs are flying high being the only undefeated team in the NFL, while the Bills are still the Bills struggling to play with consistency. Based on that, alone, it's hard to imagine the Bills winning this game. Add to the mix the very likelihood that undrafted FA, Tuel Time, may be starting and it seems improbable to expect a win. The Bills and Chiefs are posting surprisingly similar offensive numbers when you add them all up. But the Chiefs are undefeated because their defense is markedly better. With teams averaging less than 2 touchdowns against them, its easy to win a lot of games. Given we have a young, unproven, inexperienced QB and they have a defense that excels at rushing the passer, it's hard to see a Bills offensive explosion. Therefore, for me, the key to this game is our defense. The Bills defense needs to step up and shut the Chiefs offense down. There's no way we can prevail in an offensive shootout. Forcing Smith out of the pocket and making him uncomfortable will be key. At this point in the season, Smith has been the model of consistent, mistake-free football. We need to change that by putting Kiko on Charles at all times to shut his production down and then have our line harass the QB all day. Can the defense finally step up and shut a team down? I doubt it. However, I'll still be watching: 1. The Defensive Coordinator. Can he draw up enough creative blitz packages to keep Smith guessing and under pressure? 2. Kiko. He's a beast, but can he keep his eye on one of the better backs in the league and prevent the long runs and screens that Charles is known for? 3. Our defensive backfield. They need to play tight coverage all game. If Smith is rushed by our pressure, it will be completely deflating to see him connect on pass after pass due to soft coverage. 4. Our QB. Whoever he is... can he protect the ball and move our offense at all? 5. CJ Spiller. With a week off, hopefully his ankle is better. It would be a delightful surprise seeing him return to form and find the edge. He could change the fate of this team if he finds any room at all in the Chiefs defense. Go Bills!!

I can't disagree with you, because I haven't een seen Tuel practice. But, the real question is... is Flynn a better option at this point in time? Because if Thad can't go, then it's gotta be either one of them. I have no idea how much of the offense Flynn has learned, but I have to think Tuel has an edge there. Overall game experience, I would think Flynn has the edge. How thay translates to either helping us win, quite honestly I hope we don't have to find out.

I would agree, it seems as though they were wrong based on his performance in the Cleveland game. However, I think you have to look at what we knew (or had) prior to that game. The facts are: 1. Tuel was on the roster from day one of training camp and at least had a good understanding of the offense. 2. Kolb and EJ were competing for the starter/backup spot. 3. When Kolb went down, that essentially gifted the starting role to EJ and the backup to Tuel. 4. Based upon Tuel's preseason and camp performance, he seemed capable to be a backup. 5. When EJ hurt his knee (the 1st time), they immediately went out and brought in several QBs. Granted, at the time the pickings were quite slim. 6. A week later we enter the regular season preparation. EJ, at that time, was deemed healthy and would start. The point of contention then becomes... do you go with Tuel as the backup - a guy that had been on the team from day 1 and didn't look all that bad in the preseason? Or do you name Thad your backup - a practice squad cut that had been on the team one week? At the time, I think they took the prudent approach, given the information at the time, entering the season. After the Browns game, they had 10days to think, re-evaluate, and considering Thad had been on the team for over a month and had a better grasp of the offense, they promoted him up. In some ways, we're here again. If the starter can't start, do you start the guy that's been here since day one and knows the offense or do you start the guy that's had 2 weeks to learn the offense? Flynn may have more experience, but as we all saw with Freeman, if he doesn't know the offense all the experience accounts for squat. So, in the end, I think they've dealt with a sucky situation about as well as they could. The mistake was probably thinking Kolb would be a viable QB on this roster. If he doesn't get injured in preseason, this is all a mute discussion. If EJ doesn't get injured, this is a mute discussion. But, when your top 2 QBs get injured, repeatedly it's almost a lose lose situation.

Awesome rseponse. Precisely!

But.... what if Tuel comes in and lights up the Chiefs with lots of bombs to our speedy receivers? Does it mean we give EJ a few more weeks to "heal" up?