Gray Beard

4*7+2*3 to 1*7+2*3 33 34 to 13 and not in a good way

I always look forward to your posts. I enjoy your discussions of line play. Last season you were getting so much grief that you contemplated ending your posts. That would be too bad. Don't let the jerks get you down, please keep up the good work!

The AFC East has been one of the worst divisions in the NFL for the past couple of years. The Patriots win the division, then lose in the playoffs. They are not a great team, but they are the best of a bad bunch. Everyone fears #12 and his receivers, then they beat you with the running game. A creative defense may be able to rattle #12 with some pressure and still stop the run, which is key to shutting them down. I assume that Pettine knows this, and he should be able to make the game interesting.

I agree with your quick summary completely. I never understood why Chan/Fitz didn't use the TE more, at least as a check down if nothing else. Now if somebody wants to discuss the rise of the fullback in the past few years (another position Chan didn't use)...

Moorman was getting old and his leg wasn't what it used to be, but I agree the reason for cutting him was more about disagreeing with the coach than it was about performance. There seemed to be a disagreement over when to go for the touchback, when to go for the coffin corner, and when to let the coverage team make a play. Moorman knew what his leg could do, what the wind would do, and probably had his own opinions regarding the skill level of the receiving team and of his own coverage team. I wonder if Moorman was a vet and by disagreeing with the coach he could possibly cause the coaching staff to loose credibility with the players, which ulitmately caused him to be cut.

Substitute Tashard Choice for CJ Spiller and that was the actual playbook for the second half of the Redskins game. That might explain why the Bills never got a first down in the second half of that game.

How does a guy with that kind of history even get invited into camp for a tryout? I guess some scout somewhere must have noticed something.

Bill - I look forward to your posts mostly because of your observations regarding he O-Line. You seem to notice footwork and other details that I don't understand very well. It makes me feel a little better when you say that guys like Glenn and Pears seem to be doing pretty well. The footwork that I did notice was the cornerbacks. If you think Gilmore played poorly, the other guys playing that position were much much worse.

Between Leinart and Kolb, the Bills are collecting rejects from Arizona. For some reason that does not inspire confidence.

We can afford to lose the next one, but after that we will probably have to win at least ten of the remaining 16 games to have a chance.

If he turns out to be as good as people think/hope then he would be a bargain at six million dollars

Agree 100%. I used to look forward to TMQ, now I rarely read it. I remember the excitement and general all around good feeling when Dareus was drafted. Calling him a journeyman at this point is a little bit of a surprise to me.

If the butler got cut he would be bringing The Hoody his pipe and slippers before the end of the day.

What is the liklihood that the Bills cut him? He is probably a second stringer, maybe they wil decide they don't want to put up with the hassle or distraction.

Good for Marrone. He needs to send a message to the fans. This is not the passive Bills defense of the past few years. This is a wild blitzing defense that will be exciting to watch. He needs to build up interest. He needs to make people want to come to the games. He's doing that pretty well. I also like the way Marrone gets mad on the sidelines. Must be a lineman's mentallity. He almost reminds me of Carl Mauck from a few years ago. And that's a good thing.

Maybe with the apparent emphasis on conditioning with the new coaches, CJ won't get winded so fast.

If he renegotiated his contract (presumably for less money) does that mean he was worried that the Bills would cut him and then no other team would pick him up and pay him a decent amount? That is interesting to me. Did his lack of touches over the past few years hurt his chances? Is the wildcat dead throughout the league and that was his claim to fame? Is he destined to be a #3 or #4 receiver wherever he might go and therefore should be paid as such?

Since I ain't got one of them newfangled smart phones and I have to actually be on a computer to check the board, I only check it about 5 to 10 times a day. Maybe I'm better off that way.

only in hindsight

I hope somebody is checking to see who is at Tempo

I'm glad I'm not the only guy to hold a grudge against somebody who showed so little class toward the team and town that gave him a chance when it would have been more logical to write him off.

I've been laughing for five minutes over this. My dog is wondering what's going on. I was thinking about "Billieve it or Knot" but that is pretty lame.

Some people seem to feel that the punter should just shut up and punt. Does that mean the quarterback should just shut up and throw the ball? The line should just shut up and block? The line backers should just shut up and tackle? Who is allowed to hold their teammates responsible, if not one of the few pro bowl players the team has had in the past decade? If the team is satisfied with mediocrity, then they will only be mediocre. Pittsburgh does not settle for mediocrity without getting angry. Maybe since the punter is not seen as a position that would be a team leader, he only observed and was not in a situation to change the culture. Moorman is a very intelligent man. He clearly was aware of the culture of mediocrity, and was frustrated by it.

#6 and #11 for sure. Why not let Spiller run more, or why are you punting, or why are you in a nickel defense in a running situation, the list goes on and on... WHAT ARE YOU DOING is usually what I want to ask the coaches, not necessarily the players.

I somehow stumbled across this interview a while ago, and I thought that he came across as a smart, well spoken guy. I know that we aren't supposed to care, just win baby, show me the baby, etc., but I can't help it. I like rooting for people like this who seem likeable. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lveeliVq4U0