Gray Beard

I was a little surprised he mentioned Pears and Chandler, I just didn't think anyone noticed those guys given that there are so many tight ends and right tackles to choose from. I was also surprised that he mentioned Wilson but not Byrd. They are both very good and deserving of recognition. Very happy to see the acknowledgement of some of the guys we have been rooting for over the past few months!

Ralph should know that publicity is good for selling tickets. Stevie sells tickets now just like TO sold tickets a couple of years ago. Stevie may be expecting more money than they want to pay him, but it should be worth 10% extra just because he is a fan favorite. His team mates like him, he plays hurt, he runs routes in the middle of the field, and he says he wants to stay in Buffalo. The rest of the receiver corps is being paid peanuts, so they can afford to pay a little extra for Stevie. If they draft a big, fast receiver, the rookie pay scale makes it fairly cheap for his initial contract. If they go out and get one through free agency, then they will have to pay more, which means that is unlikely to happen. Paying 10% extra for Stevie in order to keep him isn't a bad idea at all. I would be shocked if they let him go. On the other hand, if the whole "I like Buffalo" talk is not entirely honest, and Stevie wants to go someplace like SF (who just cut Braylon Edwards), then it could become a whole new issue that would make it almost impossible to re-sign him.

I'll be surprised if nobody is named as an alternate. Byrd went two years ago, so I think he has some name recognition that gives him the best shot to be selected as an alternate. Jackson and Williams would have had a shot if they were healthy.

I feel that ranking the top three choices and determining which best fits your need is a good compromise between BPA and reaching for need. If you reach beyond the top three, then you run the risk of picking a Whitner (good but not great, inflated sense of self worth due to being picked too high).

Last chance to see the Bills until next August! Wild horses couldn't drag me away from the TV.

Even if it is Trent Richardson?

I will root for the Bills to win, but I can't realistically expect it to happen. I will also root for whatever the scenario is for the Jets to miss the playoffs. I saw an explanation on ESPN of what it takes for the Jets to make the playoffs, and they need a lot of help. If the Jets miss the playoffs, Ryan and Sanchez will be on the hot seat. Ryan may sacrifice Sanchez to save his own butt. That whole situation will be fun to watch.

He'll take some heat off Stevie. By dropping more passes.

No question mark necessary. The Senator is core. He's a captain, so the team thinks pretty highly of him.

I had a minor panic attack thinking that Byrd could get away. I would hate that. He is one of the few players on the Bills who is pro bowl caliber. Pay him top 10 safety money and redo the contract half way through next season so that there is no drama. Byrd, Fred and Stevie... git 'er done!

I know at some point I commented that Evans looked to me like he had alligator arms and that he looked like a guy who had given up when the season was only half over in 2010. I really thought that his attitude would improve when he got traded to a team that would likely be in the playoffs. I'm a little bit surprised to find that the verdict has come in that the poor effort that he had for his last couple of seasons with the Bills is continuing now that he is on the Ravens.

Great summary. I bolded the parts that I thought were key.

Last year it was Brohm who played near the end of the season. He had a terrible game, and then he disappeared. I felt sorry for him, he had no clue how to handle the pass rush and get rid of the ball in three seconds or less. I became more of a Fitz fan after that game, because I realized just how good he was at dealing with the pass rush and still playing competitively.

Fitz hit the nail on the head in his presser. They want to end this year on a positive note. If they played like crap right up to the end, nobody would be looking forward to next year. That includes players, coaches, management and fans. They have to do their best and demonstrate that they are competitive. Which would sell more season tickets: winning a meaningless home game at the end of the season, or mail it in and look like the team doesn't even care? Maybe the difference is small, and maybe the experts on this forum would see the master plan and be more enthusiastic if they lost, but on a grand scale they would likely be better off if they are competitive and chalk up a victory for the last home game of the season.

Thigpen is worthless. Chan probably knows that. That's why he tried to get Graham Harrell off the Packers practice squad. I think one of the interesting plot lines next spring will involve the second string QB. Will they draft somebody? What round? Second or third would mean they are serious. Beyond third they are just taking a flyer to see if they get lucky. Maybe they will go after a FA, but it would be hard (expensive) to get somebody that way who would be very good. That's how they ended up with Thigpen. Based on meaningless preseason games against other scrubs, Levi Brown looked better than Thigpen, but Chan stuck with his guy. I hope he doesn't do something detrimental to the future of the team like that again next fall.

Williams got away with one also. The Bills seemed to get the benefit of a few calls in that game. I honestly don't think there is a conspiracy, I just think the calls are inconsistent, both from game to game as well as within a game. It's hard to call every penalty correctly, and there are several times when it's up to the ref's individual judgement or point of view. It's also hard for a ref to be 100% objective, I'm sure they have favorite teams and players. I know, I know... they are professional and that's what they get paid to do. But they are human, and humans make mistakes and humans have preferences. Just like the announcers are supposed to be objective, but after a while in most games you can tell which teams and which players the announcers are biased toward. It's all part of the game. I also wonder how much the players banter influences the way the refs call a game. Does Brady get more calls to go his way because he is a big name player, and he is obviously worried about getting hit in the knees? He sure whines to the ref whenever somebody gets within five yards of him. I'm sure there are several players that the refs are more prone to protect, and several players that the refs are more prone to penalize.

I think they should re-sign Bell and Stevie. Pay extra for Stevie if you have to, he is a fan favorite and that is worth something. An added bonus is that it will be fun to watch Crayonz go ballistic if Bell is re-signed and then gets injured.

I must have seen those post game comments five or six times on ESPN today. It's nice to see someone call Rex out. I REALLY hope the Jets don't make the playoffs, and these comments will probably be played over and over for years to come. On the other hand, it's easy to make such bold statements AFTER you win the game.

This seems like a thinly disguised "Fitz Sucks" thread.

If there is an injury, I think it is in the chest. Cracked ribs perhaps. I would be surprised to learn that there is something wrong with his shoulder. He acted like he might be injured for a few games after the London Fletcher hit, but for the past two or three games he has seemed to be pretty much the same as he was early in the year. Maybe bruised and tired, but not significantly injured.

Tell us what you REALLY think

+1

Some people say that Chan is good at adapting the play calls to suit the players. I disagree. He seems to want to go with the five wide, short pass offense regardless of who he has or what they can do. When Fitz was clearly hurt after the Redskins game, the offense should have been more run oriented, and the wildcat should have been used to give Fitz a rest. He didn't do that, but instead kept relying on Fitz to carry the load with passes that were clearly not crisp or on target. Spiller running sweeps and screens is a natural, but for some reason those plays are rarely used. Against Denver, those plays were awesome. Why did he take so long? In the Miami game, they were lining the entire defense on the line of scrimmage, and both Miami and the Jets love to blitz. Ok, use screens and throw the ball over the defenders heads as they come rushing in. He is in love with using Choice, even though he hasn't really shown much. I understand a change of pace back, but he takes Spiller out when they are near the goal line. Does he not want Spiller to get credit for touchdowns? Five wide makes it nearly impossible to disguise your intent. Play action is often effective. ?

Somebody asked in a thread a week or so ago if there is anybody on the Bills that has pro-bowl talent. Jackson, Wood and Williams maybe, but they are all done for the year. I think Levitre is a possibility, and Byrd is another possibility. Byrd made the pro-bowl two years ago (as a rookie) basically because he had several flukey interceptions. At this point, he is truly a complete player. Pass and run coverage. He is a keeper!

It's amazing how different people in different threads can have such a wide variety of opinions. The other day I said that the O-line has been shaky in pass protection but pretty good at run blocking. I got slapped down like an insolent child because clearly the O-line sucks. Period. I stand by my original statement. The lack of continuity becomes a bigger problem with pass protection, but there is clearly some talent there to build on.