jad1

For this current Bills team, which has proven it can generate a great pass rush without a dominant DE, I wouldn't make that tradeoff.

The Eagles had the cap space to sign Vincent to the same deal he got with the Bills, and they could have let the starter/nickel competition happen in training camp. So yes, I believe it was possible for Vincent to remain with the Eagles, if the Eagles wanted him. They obviously didn't believe they needed him, and, as a result, got toasted by a slot receiver in the SB.

Well then, you're wrong. Vincent or Taylor covering the slot, playing nickel, would have made a huge difference in that game, and the Eagles could have afforded it. Just like they could have afforded Trotter the year before, when the Panthers ran all over them in the NFC Championship game. The Eagles have proven to be penny-wise and pound-foolish the last few years. And Vincent was injured in the Pats game, against us, in our house. They threw against McGee, Baker, and Wire who are the caliber of young DB syou're advocating we replace Clemments with. And of course pass rush is important. Important enough for you to realize that the Bills finished with the 2nd most sacks in the league last season. Losing Clements would hurt the Bills much more than gaining a top DE would help them.

You don't think the Eagles could have used Vincent (or Taylor) in the SB, when Deion Branch was catching balls all over the field? And they had Kearse, Dawkins, and a bunch of cap room. Lot of good it did them.

I'd think that the movie that would remind you of the Pats and their fans would be called The Village Idiot. (Relax, it's just a joke! )

Maybe they're replacing his hand with a hook. ARRRRGHHHH!

Let me tell you that Paul Macguire played for the Buffalo Bills, and I honestly believe that of the ex-Buffalo Bill announcers, he's one of them, and I'll tell you what, being an annoucer, he does what announcers do, he goes to the game and announces, and Let me tell you that when an announcer announces a game, I honestly believe that that announcer should tell you stuff, and let me tell you what, nobody tells you stuff better than a guy like Brett Favre, and I honestly believe that if you're going to tell somebody stuff like Brett Favre, I'll tell you what, nobody can tell you stuff like Brett Favre better than Paul Macguire, and I honestly believe that. It's like that, for 3 straight hours. Every time Macguire utters an "I'll tell you what," or "let me tell you" or "I honestly believe" I want a sadistic Korean woman to pluck out one of his mustache hairs with a pair of rusty tweezers.

The original premise was that McGahee's totals went down against the teams with better records on the Bills schedule. Whether you like it or not, Seattle and and St. Louis fall into that group. And while he did flounder against the Pats (with a whopping 14 carries) and the Bills did lose against the Steelers (18 carries), the fact remains that his performance against teams with better records was on par with his performance against teams with losing records. Whether you believe the opposing teams were worthy of their records is irrelevant. The Bills played the teams on their schedule, and McGahee for the most part, was consistent, regardless of the level of competition.

Isn't about time to turn this thing into a silent thread?

You saw the stats, it's not a myth. You can spin it all you like, but the fact remains to support my original claim. I'm not going to argue your shoulda's and coulda's.

Actually, if you look at the 5 playoff teams the Bills played with Willis starting(opponents combined record of 57-24), Willis' averages are quite good, with the exception of NE: NE - 2.6 ave (37 yards) NYJ - 3.6 ave (132 yds) Stl - 5.0 ave (100yds) Sea - 4.1 ave (116 yds) Pit - 4.4 ave (79 yds) So if you total it up, McGahee had 464 yards on 117 carries against playoff teams, for a 3.96 average, which is right on his overall 4.0 ypc. The idea that McGahee only ran well against poor teams is a myth.

That's probably why Iraq invaded Kuwait in the first place. Hmmmmm....

Marijuana is a banned substance under the CBA, right? Personal belief really has nothing to do with it if he broke the agreed-upon drug policy. Does anyone know if the commissioner has the power to shorten a drug suspension under the CBA? I don't think he does.

And if the plan was to have Losman throw the ball 25-30 times a game, I'd agree with you. If they had Antowain Smith or Travis Henry at RB, I'd also agree. But they don't. Now if they suffer massive injuries like the Panthers did last year, they're sunk, but let's worry about that if and when it happens. Losman is young, but McGahee and the defense present the ideal situations for him to begin his career. His ability to roll out and make plays on the run, make it unnecessary for him to drop 5-7 steps back into the pocket play after play, like his predecessor. That makes Gandy's job a hell of a lot easier. I think it's a mistake to discount the playoffs just because of Losman. Delhomme, Brady, and Roethlisberger all made the playoffs the first year they started, and the Bills seem to be following the same formula that led to those player's success.

Yeah, nobody can murder two people in a fit of jealous rage like the Juice! Wait a minute, there's no football pun in that one. Never mind.

Those who focus on Losman as the key of the Bills offense are missing the point. The Bills are going to rely on the running game and defense to win this year, not the QB. McGahee will carry the offense. The defense will keep opponents in check. The special teams will keep field position in the Bills favor. Losman will be asked to make only a couple of plays each game (to strong players such as Moulds and Evans), and to avoid mistakes. That makes the Bills closer to the Panthers (2 years ago) and Steelers (last year) than the Bengals, who needed their Palmer-led offense to score 50 points to beat the Browns last season. Mularkey proved last year that he could use scheme to protect the cement-footed Bledsoe in his offense. He should have no problem protecting Losman.

Usually that's covered in American History 101 and 102.

On HOF weekend too. I'll never forget this part of Jim's speech: RIP Hunter, and God bless the Kelly family.

I live in Florida, so I can attest to this. The place is a freakin' madhouse! Anybody considering moving down should reconsider and stay away; stay far, far away!

Stapler was a very valuable player, mostly because he was red. Actually Kenny Stabler was the Raiders' QB during Madden's SB years back in the '70s. He was a rough, tough, crafty, elusive player who was nicknamed the Snake. The commercial is a goof. It's one FF owner jive-talkin' one of his competitors. He tells him things like Ben Roethlisberger is retiring to becoming a rabbi; that he would draft Santana Moss over Randy Moss, and that Losman, unproven QB, is the second coming of Kenny Stabler. It's a funny commercial, if you take the shot at JP in stride.

Exactly. Why the hell are they wasting an MRI on a finger! How the '9ers have fallen.

Actually, I haven't. You pointed out Graham's 7 TDs earlier, which is a solid total. But he only had 364 receiving yards the entire year. That averages out to 23 a game. He hasn't even passed the 1,000 yard mark in his career yet. So while Graham is an asset in the red zone, he's not moving the ball between the twenties. It's really hard to argue from these numbers that the Pats have a need for a 2nd highly-drafted TE. And the 2TE set itself isn't that effective at moving the ball between the 20s, aside from the Colts and the Ravens back in 2000, very few teams use it successfully for any amount of time. Now you can argue that the Pats will run Dillon from that set, and I'll agree that that's a very smart thing to do. But if your 2nd TE is going to be primarily a blocker, you really don't need to spend a 1st round pick to get him. You can pick up a good blocking TE in the 3rd or 4th round. Could Belichick have upgraded the 3rd or 4th receiver position with that pick? You don't seem comfortable with Johnson. And who's their 4th WR? Tim Dwight? Troy Brown? Could he have added depth to his LBs? Are you really comfortable with a reject from the pourous KC defense starting at ILB? How old are Harrison and McGinest? Will they decline as quickly as Junior Seau did last season? Could a 1st round pick have shored up either of these positions? For someone who accused Donahoe of ignoring need with the McGahee pick, you give Belichick a huge pass for drafting a #2 TE in first round. At least Donahoe got an impact RB. Belichick's drafted a guy who might see action on 20% of the offensive plays.

I agree 100% with you. That's why I question the Pats drafting of 2 TEs in the first round.

You're close (closer than you were on the whole McGahee thing). I never said that the Pats would run the 2 TE set exclusively, because I don't think that's their best set. I believe the spread offense is harder for teams, especially the Bills to stop. But if it's going to be their base set, so be it. Whether they run 10%, 20%, 30%, or 100% of their plays from that set, I'd prefer the Bills face that, on one occassion or many, than the spread offense.

Of course not. I originally stated that I doubt that they will use this formation much, and said that Brady is better in the spread offense many times. You're the one pointing out Grahm's TD totals, Watson's injury, and that this will be their "base offense." Again, I don't believe they'll use this formation much at all, but I wouldn't mind if they did.