Typical TBD Guy

Yeah me too. WTF? I just assumed it was the mods punishing me for refusing to apologize for Bledsoe...

Clearly these blown calls hurt, and this is not what anyone wanted to read on a Thursday afternoon... However, let's face it: the Bills last Sunday had numerous opportunities to win that game, despite the refs, and the fact remains that they didn't play well enough to take advantage of these opportunities.

Crashing the board a lot...

How do you figure that? Because I don't think we can win with Bledsoe you assume I'd rather have the Bills lose than be proven wrong on a stupid message board? I'm a Bills fan first, a fan of individual players last. FYI, I still support Drew because as bad as he is, Matthews would probably be even less effective.

If Shelton can't block, then why is he on the roster? What else is he good for?

Are you kidding? These are just little skirmishes compared to what is going to happen as the season progresses. The real war will probably start after the Patriots game.

between the Spiked Lemonades and the Bledsoe Apologists. It's going to be BRUTAL here over the next 14 Sundays. Do you have the stomach for it?

Or maybe all the way up to Mr. Wilson himself. He's the one who's been the penny-pincher with the head coaching job. And he's the one who was pressing TD to bring in Bledsoe.

Yes.

Sounds fair. Both teams have great defenses and piece of stevestojan offenses.

Unfortunately, this is something both the Drew Haters and the Drew Apologists could agree on!

Lawrence Smith is not the answer at LG, but neither was Ruben Brown - especially at that cap number.

I voted for Bledsoe, but in retrospect my vote should have gone to Donahoe. Drew is what he is. His career stats and career game film show the obvious downward spiral. But Donahoe is the idiot who wouldn't admit his mistake with Drew. Extending Bledsoe's contract through 2005 kills us over the next 2 years - he's now virtually uncuttable.

The Bledsoe Apologists have become more vituperative than usual, to the point now that they're combating researched facts with semi-witty one-liners.

Actually there's some 12 yr old Japanese-American kid, currently enrolled at the University of Chicago Med School, who has the highest measured IQ in the world at 228.

It's one thing to be optimistic, but quite another to put your money where your mouth is. I don't think even you, BuffaloBob - an eternal ray of sunshine - would bet on the Bills beating the Patsies?

I believe MW has been credited with giving up 2 sacks so far this season. He has also allowed numerous other hurries. Lawrence Smith, based on what I personally saw in the Jax and Oak games, was a major liability in both run blocking and pass protection. The Raider game plan was obviously one of penetrating the middle with extra LB's, as you mentioned (the Jax D gameplan was fairly similar). However, there is a certain level of protection required from an NFL interior line, regardless of how good the opposing DT's are or how much extra blocking help is supposed to come from the HB and/or FB on blitzes. In my opinion, Smith - as well as Teague and sometimes Villarial - did not give our offense this bare minimum protection. I believe we could do better than Lawrence Smith. Next year this better player should come in free agency or even the draft; this year I think MW could be that better player since he's already playing his way out of a job at RT and since he has the natural skills to be a dominating guard. By the way, just because we're not Jim McNally himself doesn't mean we can't voice our opinions of what is right and wrong with the line. This is a Buffalo Bills football MESSAGE BOARD. This is what people here do. If you have a problem with the incredible ignorance of this board on all matters dealing with the offensive line, then by all means please enlighten us. You seem to believe we are so off on our claims that you simply had to put us in our place. So then, please tell us what the fundamental problems are with our OL - if any - and how you think we should fix them?

Not as flawed as yours. Anyone supporting Lawrence Smith's play was clearly not watching the first 2 games closely. Smith is not a legitimate NFL starter; he's a preseason stud and nothing more. MW has been a main sack offender because he's playing out in space where NFL-caliber DE speed is too much for him. As a guard, his limited mobility as a tackle instantly becomes above-average in pass protection, to go along with his already solid run-blocking abilities. I know he'll be horribly overpaid as a guard for the remainder of his contract (through 2005), so renegotiate with him or outright cut him. I don't care which way, I just no longer want MW playing tackle. I already suggested Marcus Price as our starting RT. He's been pretty consistent for his entire career when given the opportunity to start, both with us and when he was with the Saints. Nice try, Mr. Fingers. Now try again.

Better than being stuck with your boneheaded optimism for the same length of time...24-20 Bills over Pats... Nice prediction! Nostradumbass

True, although the beginning of his glorious "journey" began on the Ravens practice squad.

Price can handle RT for the rest of the season, and Lawrence "Journeyman" Smith can ride the bench until early January when he gets cut. Heading into the bye week, MW gets 2 whole weeks to learn a new position (which is pretty much the same length of time he spent with the Bills all offseason). His future as a tackle is over. He cannot handle the DE's of the NFL like he could in college. He does, however, have the talent potential to be a perennial Pro Bowl guard. To the naysayers that will defend the need for "line chemistry" and "line continuity," my answer is that there IS no chemistry and continuity to screw with; Price won't do any worse than MW, and nobody at left guard could do worse than Lawrence "I Am a No-Talent Assclown" Smith.

You are a Lake Erie T-Bone

Cutting him would save us about $1 mill but leave about $4 mill in dead cap. It doesn't look to be worth it, since a veteran backup QB to replace Drew will cost at least the amount we save in cutting him. I think we're stuck with this loser until January 2006...

It's not Drew's fault. All he needs to be successful are 5 Pro Bowl linemen who give him at least 20 seconds to throw.

Lee Evans was open on a number of plays.