Gray Beard

If hey mention Buffalo at all it will probably be only a sentence or two before or after a commercial.

I would take solace in the fact that college basketball starts soon. I would do what I do several times a day already, I would check TBD to see if there are any announcements regarding Hackett being canned.

I enjoy your write ups. I wonder if there is a way to guesstimate how many times he should have thrown the ball away to avoid a sack or to avoid trying to throw into good coverage.

Well the Patriots have one of the best O-Lines in the league. Oh wait... They traded some away, others were injured, and their O-Line was mostly second stringers. Perhaps the Patriots have better coaching?

The Bills knocked out two key Patriot players. The Patriots had scrubs on their O-Line. And it didn't matter. The performance gap was even more in favor of the Patriots after Mayo and Ridley were injured. In fact, Brady had time to eat a sandwich before deciding who's turn it was to catch the ball, and they had scrubs on the O-Line! The Bills D can't pressure their scrubs, and the Bills O-Line is mostly starters and it is one of the weakest links on the team! Can Anybody explain? Anybody? Bueller? ...Bueller?

I totally agree about Marrone and Hackett. I thought at first that Marrone would work out. I think those thoughts are gone now. I would like to add Schwartz to that list. No defensive imagination at all. These coaches have so much talent to work with, and just a few deficiencies that could reasonably be worked around (Oline, for example.).

Perhaps I'm not being rational. I just have strange nightmares of Brady quickly dumping the ball off to his two tight ends.

I believe the noise and emotions at the Ralph will be at an all time high. I don't know how long that feeling will last. The Bills offense is a complete mystery to me at this point, so I will put my faith in the Bills defense. However, I am completely terrified of the Pats tight ends. The Bills don't believe the tight end position exists as an offensive weapon, and they may not understand how to defend against them. I believe the game will hinge on how well the Bills handle the tight ends and the short passing game. I believe the Bills have a good run defense and an adequate defense for covering wide receivers, but I have no idea how the Bills will respond to the tight ends, and I won't try to predict how it will turn out.

Thanks for the effort. I appreciate that you define your assumptions and that you are just a guy watching the game and taking notes. I like that you only have a few categories so I don't have to have the brains of a rocket surgeon to understand and absorb the information. That puts things into perspective and allows me to use the information as a way to help an ordinary fan like me to summarize my observations and gut feelings during the game.

I remember that thread and I remember the flak you took from it. And I remember that you were right, http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/136754-the-bills-method-of-winning-is-unsustainable/ I assumed that sooner or later somebody would point out that 1) The Detroit game was a gift because of a bad day for a kicker, 2) the Pats just beat the tar out of the Bengals, and 3) historically the Pats seem to be able to beat the Bills pretty regularly. Therefore, this week will be a tough week. I can't wait to see how it turns out. I believe this Bills team has more talent than any Bills team in the last decade. I believe old age and salary issues are starting to become a reality for the Pats. I believe the new ownership will energize everyone at the game. But it is still the Pats and Bills, so it ain't over 'til it's over.

Seems like a slam dunk to me.

Apparently the logic is..1) The Bills won this game with Orton at QB 2) The Bills have won games in the past with EJ at QB 3) Therefore, the Bills would have won this game with EJ at QB I don't get it, but that seems to be the argument people are making.

This.We don't know if is play calling from the sideline, changing the play at the line of scrimmage, or bad execution. Today's game will be an opportunity to help figure out which one it is.

Spiller up the middle - flea flicker - Orton hits Woods for 17 yard gain.

On this forum the "Eyeball Test" will usually get you ridiculed by somebody who has a bunch of statistics. I looked up the statistics on Blaine Gabbert's and JaMarcus Russell's first 20 games. They were about the same as everyone else's. I guess that means those guys can get it done with a little more time also.The "Eyeball Test" says that EJ is indecisive, doesn't see the whole field, doesn't step into his throws, etc. But for people who just want to cherry pick statistics, these are meaningless observations. Developing a QB may be a Catch-22... He won't be good until he plays for a few years, but your team won't win the close games until he gets to be good. And in the Parity League, almost every game is a close game.

My biggest gripe is that EJ should be playing cornerback on defense, and then be offensive coordinator when the Bills have the ball.

The film is out on Richardson doing a belly flop on Watts after the play and knocking his helmet off. I'm sure Suh is going to be keeping his eye out for that move. But seriously, Richardson wasn't terrible against Houston and he may be an upgrade over some of the turnstiles that have been on the line so far this season.

A little harsh, but I can't disagree.

You didn't include humor. I could have picked every reason on the list. Humor is another reason. I usually end up laughing out loud at something. I also consider myself to be a pretty smart person, but it is obvious that I am dense and slow witted compared to many of the posters on this forum.

You forgot to complete the scenario... Orton hurt, EJ back in, Tuel brought up from the practice squad, EJ hurt a few weeks later, and then it's Tuel time.

I wish I had a .gif of Richardson doing a belly flop on Watts and knocking his helmet off. That almost looked deliberate, but I don't think it was. It was one of the few bright spots of that game.

I'm pretty sure in an earlier game (San Diego, I think) Fred purposely dropped a pass because he knew that catching the ball in bounds for minimal gain was worse than an incompletion that would stop the clock. Experience is valuable.

My prediction: Before this season ends, Orton gets banged up, EJ plays a few games and gets banged up, and before you know it, it's Tuel time in Buffalo.

Utica gets Falcons and Giants. Nooooo.

I had a lot of fun looking at old posts to find some links for this...http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/145020-preemptive-draft-complaint-thread/page__st__20 http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/167567-official-1st-round-discussion-thread-non-bills/page__st__60