Simon

I don't know man. After having to stand around grinding his teeth for half a game last week, I wonder if Hughes wouldn't have been on his best behavior; that is until Barrington blew up his captain and gave everybody else a freebie to play with. I'll tell you this much. If Whaley had been the GM at the time, CJ Spiller (or any other 190lb RB) would not have been the pick. He fought that one at the time. He also went down to Atlanta to personally work out Demaryius Thomas and the Bills were trying to trade back up into the mid-late 20's for him when Denver snagged him first. Love that dude; he can wear a Bills uni as long as he wants. That being said, I'm really afraid his legs are shot. I won't argue too hard with you because I only saw it the one time live and never since. I just know it pissed me off at the time and if Fred had been hustling to make a tackle on a live ball I don't think I would have reacted by dropping a string of f-bombs and death threats that made the dog run out of the room.

At the risk of sounding like some internet tough guy, I think the Packers were pretty galdanged fortunate that Bulaga was the only guy that got rung up. The Bills D year-long history of dealing damage + that offense's relative inexperience dealing with pick returns + the fact that we actually took two from Rodgers + the fact that it was Fred = a recipe for a potential slaughterhouse out there. I'd like to see a full field view of what ensued after the second pick to see if Rodgers immediately hit the ground and about 7 other Packers were spinning in circles trying to locate incoming missiles. The fact that it was Bulaga's replacement that gave up the game-ending play to the Big Man was some tasty frontier justice.

Neither do the Bills

Jogging towards a sideline 40 feet away from a long dead ball is hardly trying to make a tackle. It was a chicken-shlt, dirtbag play from Barrington that accomplished nothing but putting Fred's brothers in headhunter mode.

Credit to Nelson for getting an arm in there but I don't think he was the primary reason that Gilmore didn't take that one the other way. I think it was because Rodgers' throw was so atrocious that it crossed him up. Gilmore is playing that route expecting the ball in a certain place at a certain time and his jump was designed to put him in that spot. But Rodgers smoked that throw and managed to miss his spot by a good two feet to the right, resulting in the ball getting on top of Gilmore and forcing him to adjust to making a catch in his body instead of with his hands. Ironically, if Rodgers puts that ball where he is supposed to I think Gilmore grabs a clean snatch snatches it cleanly and brings it home.

No it's not. Out-maneuvering your opponent with skill and guile is an integral part of the game. Imposing your will on the man across from you is an integral part of the game. Inflicting pain is nothing more than a fringe benefit

I thought that was the "hidden" impact play of the game. Bulaga and Mario were having an awesome battle throughout the day, with Bulaga doing great work stalemating the big man. After Hughes sent him to the locker room, Mario took advantage of the back-up and beat him on the edge to make the play that ended the game. I doubt he makes that play if Bulaga is still on the field. And regarding the big hits against the grain by both Wood and Hughes, I bet those never happen if that idiot Barrington hadn't lit up Fred with a cheap shot a full 2-3 seconds after the whistle on the non-return after Orton's pick.

He wasn't the only one who bit on that sluggo. Graham was having dreams of TD glory

The Albatross

I've been looking everywhere for that slippery sumbich..... Let me know where it is!

I think the fired-up Bills defense was looking to score on that set of downs and McCarthy dialed up the perfect call at the perfect moment. A mighty cheap lesson for a couple guys who played a fantastic game except for 1 split second when they played DB with their balls instead of brains.

It's good to have professional editors around......

We seem to see most of the deserved props going to the Bills DLine, Schwarz and his assistants, Doug Whaley, our good young LB's, Doug Marrone, etc. They do deserve it, but the Bills DB's also deserve their very own thread. They've been really, really good as a unit all year long, but the last couple weeks they've been unf'inbelievable. From racking up more coverage sacks than anybody in the NFL, repeatedly producing key turnovers, helping carry an albatross of an offense to shutting down two first ballot HOF QB's in back to back weeks these guys have been the second best unit on the Buffalo Bills this season. And the only reason they aren't first is because we happen to be carrying the best DLine on the planet. Much respect to the last line of defense turning itself into a primary impact player for this team.

If we want to go with a car analogy I'd say that Doug has been driving for the last year or two. But don't believe for a second that Mama Russ and the rest of the Brandon clan isn't crowded into the backseat trying to yell directions in his ear. I think addressing that situation is the single most productive thing the Pegulas could do in the near term. While nobody is likely to come out and say it, I think that Whaley's ill-considered promotion of the Wannstedt hiring cost him some credibility (as well as some self-confidence), negating any ability for him to go Krushchev on anybody during that search. Perhaps saying he had little input was poorly stated; I think saying he had little influence would be more accurate.

He was also "involved" with drafting CJ Spiller in the first round. By no means does it mean he agreed with it.

That was the Russ and Buddy Show

Fwiw, Doug had virtually zero input on the hire of Marrone and his cronies and as a result currently has no emotional attachment to them whatsoever. I would also add that a coach with an enormous ego unaccompanied by an enormous brain will never field a team that plays to its talent level.

Maybe. But tomorrow morning when he's pissing blood he's probably more likely to remember Bradham sticking him in the kidney after he went over the goalline ; - )

He still gets caught taking a false step every now and again, but I swear the kid is getting better every week. He got a great jump on that play right off the snap. I'd really like to see him, Kiko and Bradham running behind that same Front4 next year.

Before that ball was snapped I was looking for a flag to fly on Thomas for a procedure penalty. He was set up so far off the line off scrimmage I thought for sure they were going to nail him for it.

Haven't seen a replay to confirm, but about 2 seconds before Hughes stripped it, I remember saying "Way to see it, kid!" referring to Preston Brown. He might deserve hisself a little nod on that play.....

If you have one of those DVR doodads, take a look at that play again. The corner over Sammy changes his leverage just before the snap, Watkins recognizes it and adjusts his route accordingly. But the corner timed it perfectly and Orton doesn't catch him moving to Sammy's inside shoulder. It was a great headgame from the corner and the reason that Orton and Watkins weren't on the same page.

If you get a chance to see a replay, watch for the corner to change his leverage just before the snap. He waited til Orton had taken his last look and then changed it as soon as the QB's eyes went back to the Center for the last time. Watkins adjusted his route accordingly, but Orton never picked it up. Head games like that are one of the very few weapons that corners have at their disposal, and that guy played it perfectly.

all right boys, git yer red pens out and mark up this mid-term > I think my favorite thing about this team is just how physically they play the game. I don’t like to see guys hurt, but I dislike it a lot less when they’re not our guys; and there have been an awful lot of times this year that you see a player down and then find yourself relieved to learn that it is not a Bill. Individual injuries are typically a fluky sort of thing but when you see it repeatedly happening to opponents all over the field, week after week after week, that is a trend which points to just how much the Bills like to beat people up. Huge props to guys like Fred Jackson, Mario Wiliams, Erik Wood and Aaron Williams who have really set the tone for the relentless brawling style these guys are playing successfully with. > Some more props to Jim Schwartz and his unexpected display of self-containment. I was really worried about this hire because I feared that Schwartz’ outsized ego could be problematic with how he deployed this talent-rich defense. I envisioned him looking at this roster with bulging eyes and then trying to run a bunch of exotic nonsense that was well outside his wheelhouse; needless to say that has not been the case at all so far. He’s repeatedly put together tactically sound game plans for a variety of O's with minimal exposure to the few weak spots on this defensive roster. His self-restraint has allowed the talent level of his players to dictate outcomes for the vast majority of the season so far. if the Bills can stay healthy and Schwartz can continue to be conservatively creative as the season progresses, only very good offenses will be able to produce on these guys. > We've got half an OLine and half a truly offensive line. No worries with Glenn, Wood or Seantrel (that was just outstanding work Doug), but the half of the Bills OLine that consist of our two Guards and our TE’s is a sight for blind eyes. Erik Pears might be a wonderful father and a magnanimous philanthropist but he simply has no business residing on an NFL roster at this point. I give him all the credit and respect in the world for using nothing but guts and guile to parlay a very limited skill set into some significant paydays, but his expiration date has arrived. Maybe he’ll be a fine coach some day, but his lack of athleticism has caught up to him at the ripe old age of 30ish and repeatedly trotting him out there week after week is hurting this offense…..badly. The fact that neither of the guys that Doug drafted this year can move Pears off his spot could be very troubling, or it could be another sign of a potential problem with the manner in which our coach deploys players. Leading to……. > I cannot be the only one around here who has seen just about enough of Doug Marrone’s horsespit. His dicking around with guy like Mike Williams, Craig Urbik, Jerry Hughes, Robert Woods, etc is going to become a real world problem if he keeps it up. Don’t kid yourself that other players don’t recognize it and don’t kid yourself that it’s not going to be an issue moving forward. What is it that these guys have in common? None of them are cuddly critters and none of them have any interest in kissing coach ass. Marrone’s tough guy act and his petulant need to have his posterior polished are a dangerous variable in a locker room full of grown-ass men. Do you know why Doug Whaley was able to steal a high-potentialed Badger OLineman who was on the Outland Watch List? It was because Urbik had had enough of Mike Tomlin, they didn’t get along and Doug knew it. And because of it the Bills ended up robbing the Stillers of a very reliable OLineman. When this scenario repeats itself, this time it will be the Bills who get robbed of a good player, and it will be because of a hard-ass coach who lets personalities get in the way of professionalism. I know Urbik (like Williams, Woods and Hughes) isn’t going to win any Teacher’s Pets awards, but it doesn’t mean he’s not coachable, nor does it mean you hurt the rest of the team because of some infantile need to “put him in his place”. Watching Urbik standing uselessly on the sideline while the Bills Guards are getting their asses kicked all over the place in every quarter of every game is a glaring symptom of a troubling disease that will need to be addressed. How to address it is certainly debatable, but let’s not pretend it doesn’t exist, because you can damned well be sure the players recognize the condition. > OK, enough of that (but yeah that felt alllll right). How 'bout the Bills secondary. I know we like to have spastic fits every time we see a Bills corner give up a completion, even in a league where playing any pass defense has become viewed by officials as a potential act of on-field terrorism. But the truth of the matter is that this secondary has been really, really good this year. And I’m not talking just the last couple weeks; they’ve been very effective for nearly every half they’ve played this year. Do you all realize just how many coverage sacks these guys have been racking up since the season started? Schwartz’ patient, well-controlled pass rush leads to virtually no free runners or jailbreak scenarios for this defense. They inevitably apply pressure, but it’s more of a gradual, squeezing pressure than the kind of fast, explosive pressure that forces turnovers. Despite that fact, these guys are not only leading the NFL in sacks (most of which could clearly be qualified as coverage sacks) but they are also leading the NFL in interceptions! The next time you get to barking because you saw a DB give up a completion, maybe you ought to consider the previous 15 plays where you failed to see that DB when he didn’t give up an inch and frequently forced a sack or a throwaway. Which is exactly what they’ve done as much as any secondary in the NFL this year. > Marcel Dareus is an unholy terror and there isn’t an OLineman in the NFL who isn’t pissing down his leg when he sits down to watch film of him. > Lots of stuff on TSW about Nate , err Nathaniel Hackett. I could be misreading it but it kind of looks like maybe one or two people don’t care too much for him? - ) Watching this Bills offense has been an exercise in frustration this season, especially when you consider how many chances a very effective defense has given them. But I am not entirely convinced that laying all of the blame for this at Hackett’s feet is an accurate assessment of the situation. The guy has done a pretty nice job of assembling a functional passing attack with real question marks at OLine, QB and TE. His route combination and real time calls during games have been very effective at using scheme and match-ups to get guys open at good spots on the field. That being said, the Bills running game has been nothing short of abysmal all year long. But is Hackett really the root problem with that aspect of the Bills offense? Looking around the board the two primary complaints I seem to be seeing are predictable playcalling (run/run/pass) and a lack of variety in the rungame. I don’t put a lot of stock in that first complaint because a) you hear it from every fan and the horse they rode in on and b) I don’t think we realize just how hard it is to call an effective offense in real time when you have to be ready to go while guys are still getting off the ground. It’s easy to sit in front of your TV when both units are already deployed and the play clock is winding down and call plays. You spend a few quarters calling Spider 2 Y Banana before Fred has even handed the ball to the official and see how well you do then. Anyhoo, I understand the first complaint as it relates to Sunday. Yes the pattern was repetitive and predictable. But it’s also worth taking into account that we were on the road holding a 2 score lead over a division rival; that is most certainly NOT the time to go out there and start slinging it around and invite the bad guys back into the game. That’s exactly the part of a game when a team who wants to be committed to the run, actually goes out there and commits to the run. Could he have done a better job of getting a controlled passing aspect involved to break it up occasionally? Yes he could have, but it’s hardly a firing offense. I understand the second complaint as it relates to the entire season and imo it holds a little more merit. Watching the Bills rungame consist of repeatedly trying to unsuccessfully jam the ball up into the 1, 0 and 2 holes can be really freaking aggravating. But if you consider the other available options and their likely results you start to maybe see why Hackett has been doing exactly that. He can’t call up the stretch play with any consistency because both his guards are getting blown into the backfield on every other down. He starts doing that and all the sudden the Bills are going to be spending all day behind schedule in 2nd/13 and 3rd/9. . He’s not going to start calling up a bunch of draw plays because, again, he’s only going to end up with TFL’s and holding calls that put the Bills behind schedule and lead to punts and turnovers. He can’t run off tackle because he doesn’t have any TE’s he can put out there kick (or block anybody with any sort of consistency whatsoever). When you look at a 7man OLine that only has 3 guys you can count on, it severely limits your options. If the Bills really want to be committed to the run, repeatedly jamming it into the interior OLine for minimal gains (and minimal risk) is probably the safest way to go about it. If we’re going to really give Hackett the business, maybe we ought to consider questioning his strategic thinking instead of his tactical. > I cannot wait to see a healthy Kiko back on the field with the Bills next year. It’s looking like he and Bradham might both be long term answers as edge players at the second level for the Bills, and that is something we haven’t had around here in a pretty long time. And when you see the game slowing down for Preston Brown a little bit more every week, it looks like we might already have the makings of a solid group of starters at LB on the roster right now. And that hasn’t been the case around here in a veeerrrrry long time. It is not far-fetched at all to think that at this time next year, the Bills might have the very best Front7 on the planet. And while some of y’all like to win with a great QB, or a powerful OLine, or a brilliant coaching staff, for my money the heart of a great football team is its defensive Front7. You make yourself dominant there and it covers up an awful lot of warts elsewhere on your roster. Doug Whaley recognizes that value and I look forward to us remaining strong there as long as he is making the calls. > So what should be the Bills strategy going forward to make themselves competitive on a consistent basis? For my part I’d like to see the Pegulas do some much-needed housecleaning. I think it would be best for the Bills to excise the entire Russ Brandon cartel; clearing out an embedded 5th column of cronies who have been entrenched here through this 15 year slopfest might go a long ways to getting the whole organization pulling in the same direction. I would also like to see them part ways with pretty much everybody who has ever had a cup of coffee in Syracuse. Doug Marrone and his pals (i.e Hackett, Crossman,etc) do not strike me as the kind of crew that is conducive to either short-term or long-term success. Leave Doug Whaley in place to continue what he has begun (and begun very well for the most part) and make sure he understands that he has both the authority as well as the support of ownership to make independent decisions (i.e. not being pressured to hire Russ Brandon’s buddies) for the good of this football team. He’s an intelligent, well-prepared, stand-up guy who deserves the opportunity to do his thing. In the meantime let's start pestering him about how well Buffalo and Nick Saban might get along. I bet he could turn Maddy Bumgarner into a hell of a QB. Get on it Whaley!

Got a birthday present for you. Cya