PolishDave

A couple disappointing things I still saw today though: One hammered Bills fan sitting in an aisle seat in the section next to me would stop every Dolphin fan who was walking up the stairs and whip the bird right at the person's face. Can't believe that guy didn't get his ass beat. He deserved it. I felt like beating him even though he was wearing Bills gear. And when I first entered the stadium there was one large 20 ish year old Bills fan who was running up to anyone wearing Dolphins gear and yelling "eff the Dolphins" right at them. That dude was obviously a loser too. Felt like tripping that schmuck and kicking him in the head with my boot. But, I'm too old to fight any more. After having attended enough away games, I can no longer stand watching our home fans treat other teams' fans like that. If the other teams' fans start something, well then I have no problem with retaliating. But, I hate seeing Bills fans start crap with them just because they are supporting their favorite team. All in all though, today was a day where the fans understood penalties, understood game plans and understood the game of football for the most part, which I thought was pretty cool.

Who said anything about die hards having to attend games? I just said it looked like the stadium was full of die hard fans. By die hard I mean experienced Bills fans that have been following the Bills for many years. I certainly didn't mean or intend to imply that anyone is a bigger or better fan than anyone else. And I certainly didn't expect anyone to take it personal. Geesh. Sorry bub.

What is your opinion of how the fan base was in the stadium today? Seemed to me like it was just the die hards there today. I liked it. With 20,000 empty seats there was room to move around a little (extra empty beer holders). Fans were pretty loud relative to the attendance numbers. Fans helped create offensive mistakes by Dolphins. Fans were loud when needed and quiet when needed. Overall, I thought it was one of the better games. Of course, maybe it had something to do with the fact that the Bills were destroying the Dolphins? Your take?

I think you are dead wrong. You have to remember that winning a game takes more than just skilled players. A lot of winning comes from the mental side of the game. The mental side of the game is where these wins come into play. When the Bills play the Dolphins next year, they will go into those games with an attitude like this "Hey..we beat these guys twice last year...we can beat them again" That gives them a mental advantage. The Dolphins will be silently thinking "Man we can't beat these guys for some reason." Part of the reason why the Bills haven't won in New England in so long is because it is hard to break a losing streak. The Bills players go into that game with the idea in the back of their minds "We can't beat these guys here. We never win here." Then they just wait for something to go wrong in the game that proves they were right again. They accept losing because they are so used to losing there. You need to change that as soon as possible. You want to win because wins beget more wins. You want to be a good team year in and year out. You want to have a culture where it is normal to win. That is part of the reason that good teams stay good and losing teams have a hard time turning things around. This game is not just about talent. That is why there are upsets every week. There is more to this game than just who has the most number one draft picks on their roster. You know this is true. Winning is more important than anything in the long run.

Nope. I wasn't. And I don't think Ej is a bust necessarily either. I just don't want him to start next year. I want a quarterback who I have faith in that can lead this team to the playoffs. I want EJ to learn from an experienced vet and hopefully become the Qb that the Bills think he might become in a few years. I just don't want him starting. I don't think he is good enough. And neither is any other QB on this roster right now. I want a real QB to lead this team right now while the rest of the pieces (read defense) are still in place.

Why did he miss so many games? Answer = because he couldn't stay healthy. One more reason to not have faith in him. Thanks for help in making my point.

Fred knows he is loved in Buffalo & rightfully so...Glad to hear the accolades from fans in the stands today chanting FRED-EEE FRED-EEE!

Hahaha........lol...... Either you are kidding or delusional. I think the exact opposite is more true. EJ hasn't show very many good things and hasn't given the Bills any reason to have faith in him.

My sense after watching the Bills this season so far is that there isn't one good quarterback on this team. So, one way or another, they better get one so we have a chance to go deep in the playoffs with this defense. If they wait for EJ to be good, I fear that this defense will slowly disintegrate while waiting. The weakest link on this team is QB. Get one for next year and make a run.

MetLife Sports Complex, One MetLife Stadium Drive, East Rutherford, NJ, 07073 Here

I did a quick check just to give you a feel for the difference between Erie County and Genesee County. Erie County's total budget for 2013 was $1.375 billion. Genesee county's proposed 2014 budget is $144 million. There is no way Genesee County could afford to build a stadium. It ain't happening. 99% of the funds for a stadium would have to come from outside Genesee County. Not only that, Genesee county probably couldn't even afford the road infrastructure improvements that would need to be made in order for a stadium to be built. Even that money would probably have to come from the state. There are 919,000 people in Erie County. There are 60,000 people in Genesee County. The money simply isn't there. The money would have to come from outside sources - and that isn't going to happen. Politicians from Erie County have a lot more statewide political pull than politicians from little old rural Genesee County.

I don't think either of those are options because Niagara County and Genesee County have less money than Erie County does. Those counties could not afford their percentage of funding for a stadium. If it wasn't a money issue, I would agree that moving closer towards Rochester makes sense. If the Bills were 1/2 hour drive from Buffalo and 1/2 hour drive from Rochester, they could draw equally well from both markets. If you combined greater Rochester area and greater Buffalo area, it would be a much larger market for football than it currently is and I think the team's small market woes would be history. You could more easily sell the box seats and club seats too. Rochester is currently considered part of the Bills' market depending on who you ask. I know from having worked in Rochester and having family there that there is a lot of room for growth there. A lot of Rochester residents favor other NFL teams because the Bills' are just a little bit too far away for it to feel like their home team.

Who knows? But maybe it has something to do with the fact that the tight end has to seal the end and the guards have to pull to get blocks on linebackers? Take a stab at either one of those - we haven't got great blocking out of tight ends and it is not like we have top talent at guard. Maybe they ran it in practice and failed miserably?

Personally, I don’t think we got to see what this coaching staff would be capable of if it had a serviceable offense quarterback to put on the field on game days. I really believe that the whole EJ Manuel project has handicapped this coaching staff in ways that camouflage whether there is real talent or lack thereof in the head coach and the offensive coordinator. My instincts tell me that if this team had an average quarterback “like Fitz was” or better, that this team would be where Miami is right now fighting for a playoff spot or maybe even a game better than Miami. Things I like about Marrone · Personal character · Natural leadership abilities · The way he explains key issues with players week to week (very clear in my opinion – no BS) · Decisions on whether to punt/kick/go for it – I generally agree with him · How he handles himself in post game interviews for the most part · Seems pretty decisive about players and whether to cut them or not Things I think he needs to improve on · Quarterback talent evaluation (my idea of a good QB and his idea are apparently different) · Game plans for teams week to week – exploiting the other teams weaknesses · Team preparedness for the game – I don’t feel like the Bills adequately prepare for the type of team they are about to face each week (other Bills’ coaches were better at this) · Controlling team attitude and getting this team to care about winning/losing more than they do · Challenge flag decisions (although maybe this is on an upswing now) · Skills on the offensive coaching side of the ball – I don’t know how personally he is getting involved with the offense (probably not enough – I don’t see him standing next to Hackett discussing things with him during games as much as you would expect given how bad the Bills suck on offense) Maybe Marrone just doesn’t have the offensive coaching skill or if he does, then he isn’t using it enough and should be more personally involved with correcting the problems on offense. Overall I like the guy though. He is the type of guy I feel optimistic about (much more so than EJ). Something about Marrone makes me think he will be a top NFL coach one day. And I hope it is sooner rather than later. If this was a pass/fail class in college, I would give Marrone a pass.

I have been a season ticket holder for many years. So blackouts don't affect me anymore. However, back when I was in my early and mid twenties they definitely impacted whether or not I went to the game. When the game was going to be blacked out, we would round up a group of guys and go to the game. Without a doubt, for some demographics, it affects attendance. And one reason why the NFL won't give up the blackouts and shouldn't give up the blackouts is because that ticket money helps finance those big stadiums. I don't think the blackout should reach as far as it does though. I don't think it is fair to block out anyone who lives the other side of Rochester. Expecting them to drive more than one hour for to go to a game is too much to ask in my opinion. Out of town fans should always get to see the game.

You're right about this. Everything is relative. When you compare what it costs to go to a Bills game here in WNY to what it costs to attend games in other cities, and when you compare our game day experience before the game compared to those other cities, there is little doubt that Buffalo fans are getting more bang for their buck than pretty much any other place I have ever attended a professional football game. Here in Buffalo you get the full day of festivities. Other cities have you trying to find parking on side streets. There are no good places to tailgate. There aren't many people setting up small beer tents. There aren't people grilling various meets and chucking around footballs with their kids. The full game day experience, if you take advantage of it at the Ralph, really makes it worthwhile. And let's not forget that in some of those other larger more expensive markets, their fans are forced to watch some very bad football. When you look at our situation relative to the rest of the league, you can't help but be grateful and optimistic. Enjoy it while we can fans. Some day we will all be saying how these were the good old days.

The thing I remember and loved about Fletcher the most was how he made everyone around him play better. Every player on that Buffalo defense played just a little bit better because of that guy. He is a true champion of the game. Few guys play with his passion. Dude was stoked play after play. Really admirable in my opinion. Wish we had someone else on the current Bills team that played with that much passion.

My confidence that he will lead the Bills to a playoff berth next year = 10% My confidence level that he will be a top 16 QB next year by the end of the year if he starts next season = less than 10% My confidence level that he could become an above average QB in about 4 more years if he had a good quality veteran to learn from for the next few years = 60%. I would prefer if the Bills could find (somewhere) a decent veteran at least as good as Fitz was to come lead this team for the next 2 years while we still have the defense in place to be a playoff caliber football team.

Strike 1.... Strike 2.... Strike 3.... You know the rest.

I agree very strongly. The whole notion of "cleaning house" when you get a new head coach is self-defeating. I hate that. There were some better assistant coaches on the staff last year. And by letting them go, you have set your team back in that area too. It is understandable that a new head coach wants to assemble his own team. I just think it is the fault of that new head coach if he doesn't first look at what the team already has working right with it and decide for himself whether he should keep an assistant or not. Marrone should have looked closer at some of those assistants and found a way to get them to stay. I don't know if he put a lot of effort into it or none at all or if he was told not to by his boss or what happened? But I think there was some good talent there that was let go that should not have been.

There are a couple of guys who post on here who have so much man love for EJ, it really makes me wonder WTF? Are you guys watching the same games that I watch? Because that was NOT good quarterbacking play today. Hate to break it to you. It was better than his last performance, yes. Was it good? No. As other people mentioned earlier in this thread, this guy had some passes caught that most receivers would have dropped – 2 passes to Woods come to mind……2 times Woods went and got the ball with his fingertips. Other receivers on this team would have tipped those passes to the defense. EJ very, very rarely hits receivers in stride which is why you don’t see much run after the catch out of this team. He ran recklessly with the ball dangling out to his side and had a sack fumble that cost the Bills points. This was pointed out as being one of his major faults right after he was drafted. And obviously he still does it. And if you are going to judge EJ based on his stats as you stat lovers so much love to do here, then you can’t drop his bad games or bad drives or bad plays from the stats. You have to count all his stats. The only reason EJ gets a break is because he is a rookie. Next year, if he plays like that, more and more fans are going to call for his head. I am glad the Bills won and I want them to win every game no matter who is QB or what our draft prospects are going to be. Just win. The Bills won today and they won on the road. That gives me some hope that they are going to get better. But the play of the QB today was nothing to be proud of.

If you are a true stat believer then you must be a hardcore left winged democrat and a hardcore right winged republican at the same time because one look at politics will tell you just how effective stats can be at twisting the truth. In sports, stats are constantly used to conveniently help make a false statement appear true. The fact of the matter is that the really important stats aren't even measured. You could have the best QB in the league trying to force passes to receivers who can't get open and can't catch. He will have poor stats even though he is a terrific quarterback. You can have a below average quarterback throwing passes to an exceptionally talented bunch of receivers and have it make him look like an elite quarterback. Just look at Chicago. The stats that matter the most aren't the stats that people track and report and mention in forums like this one. The stats mentioned in forums like this one are more like smoke screens used to blur the truth and twist it in the posters favor.

@Jester - Thanks I needed that. Much better mood now. Man those games were fun! I honestly don't see how anyone could ever think EJ is going to be as good as Kelly was. Come on man... Get real... The only people who would honestly think that are people who did not witness those glory years firsthand. It just goes to show you how misleading stats really can be. No doubt about it.

Something I don’t see anybody else talking about….. Don’t you think the fact that EJ is the starting QB has a little bit to do with this team’s attitude? I do. If I am a pro player who wants to make it to the playoffs and win a freakin Superbowl, and they stick a guy like that in as my quarterback, how much hope for the year can you really have? Seriously….. These guys are pros. They can spot a good player from a bad player. And even though there are a large number of people on this board who are still convinced that “EJ is going to be awesome”, I wonder how many people in that locker room are of a different mindset. I can easily see the mentality in that locker room being more like this – “this staff isn’t serious about winning this year or we would have a real NFL caliber quarterback in there”. “This season would not have been a total waste if we had a decent quarterback in there.” That is what I think is going through a lot of minds, especially in the veteran’s minds. A coach can tell his team that he wants them to win, but actions speak louder than words.

Well if EJ is so dang smart, how come the coaches are talking about dumbing the offense down for him? He isn't as smart as how he is portrayed as being. Something tells me that Tuel is ahead of EJ mentally when it comes to running this offense. And so is Thad and he has had less time than the other guys. I suspect that EJ is not anywhere close to being where the coaches expected him to be mentally by this time in the season. It is a sad state of affairs for the sake of a new head coach who has so much to lose if this QB experiment fails.