ChasBB

Good call -- thanks for correcting.

sven233 -- absolutely great post!! Very well thought-out. Enjoyed reading it. Gailey was right to start Trent based on his practice and pre-season performance and Gailey was also right to bench him after two games. I have no problem with Gailey whatsoever here. Perhaps his gameplans could have been tweaked here & there, but these things go as your QB goes and if your QB play deteriorates badly -- as it indeed did -- then the gameplan kind of goes out the window with the poor QB play. I would like to respectfully disagree on one point -- that Fitz won't make a difference in wins and losses. I believe that Fitz will make a difference. He was 5-4 last year. If you take that same winning percentage and apply it to the remaining 14 games on the schedule and you're looking at 7 or 8 wins. The 0-2 hole he has to start with kind of stinks, but it is what it is. That means Fitz will need to improve on his last year's winning percentage. With better coaching in place -- and I DO believe Chan is a superior coach despite this shaky start -- this could actually happen. But, it's a tough schedule and it won't be easy. However, as another poster said, it may still suck, but it will be a more tolerable form of suck.

Very true. Nevertheless, I'd pay good cash money to watch a jail break rush with Sully in a 5-step dropback. Oh, I'd pay VERY good money for that, indeed!

My only beef was that the mods removed it from its own thread and lumped it in with the daily "Sully is an idiot" thread. I thought is was one of my better posts and that it was thread-worthy, but hey, that's cool -- the mods got to keep the site lean. If George Plimpton could do it -- a man not of great physical stature, then surely you, er, I mean Sully could do it. He seriously could write a book just as Plimpton did. If nothing else, it'd sure sell some newspapers. He might gain a little NEEDED perspective, too, and develop a little more respect for the men who play the game and what they endure. And no, I'm not saying I have that perspective either as I surely do not know what it'd be like to get waylaid by Donte Whitner -- and I have no desire to find out. It'd sure be great entertainment if nothing else. More than welcome!

When I heard the news that the Eagles signed Bell, I was kind of hoping Chad Simpson might be brought back on the PS. Oh well, that's how these things go.

I'd be honored -- no credit necessary -- go for it! (btw, Dobler one of my favorite all-time Bills -- great handle!)

I was wondering if anyone else thought this -- thanks for reenforcing that thought. It does seem pretty obvious based on his postings and gaps of logic. You know, I've pissed some people off on this board over the years and vice-versa -- goes with the territory. However, when people call me out, I usually reconsider my post and offer an apology if appropriate. For example, I made a rude and unnecessary remark to Bills in VA recently and he called me on it and I apologized. Dean once let me have it for ripping into Kelsay in an over-the-top and inappropriate manner and I apologized for the remark. And I've reconsidered several other posts when challenged with better logic or a more-considered opinion. That's what the board is all about -- give and take -- back and forth -- not just a place to state your opinions, but also a place to LISTEN to other's opinions. I really try to stay flexible on this board and be reasonable. So to all on the board, I will continue my efforts to keep my posts in moderate tones and I hope posters continue to continue to call me out if I'm making a bad post -- that's fine with me -- that's what it's all about. If I don't like a post, I do attempt to attack the post and not the poster -- I think this is something on the board many need to work on. However, in regards to mpl6876, I'll make the LONE exception -- piss off you little gnat!

These teams are saying they are not giving up by making these changes. Desperation maybe, but still necessary.

Anyone else on this site think that Sully is mpl6876? I do.

Oh, on the contrary, I think this thread is a great idea. But whatever -- you can have your opinion.

Yes, I'll say it -- I DO believe Fitzpatrick will be a real improvement. I acknowledge the team has weaknesses and I acknowledge that Fitz is not Peyton Manning, but yes, I believe Fitz will be a genuine improvement on Edwards and that Fitz will make this team competitive once again. As a fan, that's all I ask -- that the team competes and that the team leader doesn't walk out-of-bounds on 4th-and-11.

Hey Sully, remember George Plimpton? Of course you do. He was the famous sports writer who would actually participate with professional athletes as summed up nicely in this review of "Paper Lion: Confessions of a Last-String Quarterback" where Plimpton actually practiced with the Detroit Lions: "George Plimpton was the first, in the sports world, to employ "participatory journalism" in order to produce a story, or in this case a book. Over the years, Plimpton put himself in several different positions for the sake of his readers... hockey goalie... prizefighter... pitcher... he even tagged along on the PGA Tour. However, none of those really hit home on a large scale quite like PAPER LION, the story of Plimpton's trials and errors in training camp with the Detroit Lions prior to the 1963 season. It even led to a movie starring Alan Alda by the same name." (http://www.amazon.com/Paper-Lion-Confessions-Last-String-Quarterback/dp/1592280153) Why not YOU, Sully? It would be such a great service to your readers to provide that kind of insight into the inner-workings of the Buffalo Bills. Oh, maybe you could lineup at WR and get a real feel for a Donte Whitner hit, no? Perhaps you could lineup at outside LB and fend off a Corey McIntyre block and then write a story telling of your experiences as an NFL player for a day. C'mon Sully, you can do it -- we want a writer of your talent to get down-and-dirty with the Bills in an actual practice session and then tell us all about your experiences as only a writer of your fine talent can do. Oh, it would be a VERY GOOD read. Of course, having the opportunity of walking away from practice alive and actually writing the story would be the chance you'd have to take, but hey, you're a tough guy. You can do it! Go for it Sully, go for it!! Edit: Oh, I'm quite certain the Buffalo Bills would only be too happy to oblige your request.

I pretty much stopped following the NBA when the Braves left town save for a Finals here & there. It'd probably be pretty much the same if the Bills left. I don't think I could respect a league that would pull a franchise out of Buffalo (despite compelling financial reasons to do so). It just wouldn't be right and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't only stop following the Bills, but I'd probably stop following the league. On the upside, the Sabres would get a lot more attention as would the UB Bulls.

You are right. The bottom line is that this is a team sport and the best teams have the largest numbers of talented players and the Bills are lacking in talent in many areas. That said, that's precisely why we need a QB who can scramble around a bit and make some things happen. Will Fitz take the Bills to the playoffs? Doubtful. Will he generate a few more wins than Trent? My opinion is that he will. He's very mobile and will help SOMEWHAT offset the weak OL, but only somewhat.

Yeah, that's right, I'm commending him for doing something that needed to be done. Sorry you can't see any benefit in the move. Agree and disagree all at once. Agree in that how could they evaluate the QB's and come to this decision? Disagree in that he had the balls to reverse direction and admit he made a mistake. Half the battle to success, sometimes, is being able to rectify mistakes and move forward instead of staying with the first choice to the bitter end. We don't know how this will pan out, but I'm giving him credit for the change-up for now.

+1 I already had admiration for Chan's past success as an HC, but I respect him even more now for making this tough decision so early in the season. It is so tiring to see decisions like this made TOO LATE in the season to be of any benefit. By making the move now, Chan is not throwing in the towel on this season -- he's going to fight for wins this season and not give up. Go Chan and Go Bills!

OK, if that is the case, then it makes sense. Thanks for clarifying.

Funny that Trent has 32 career Starts while Fitz has onl 23 career starts and yet they talk about Fitz's "experience as a starter". Maybe it needs to be qualified as "winning experience as a starter". I'm not critical of the move -- I like the move. I just find it interesting that people think Fitz has all this past starting experience when he really does not.

The answer to the debate is "It depends". Trent is probably a more accurate thrower than Ryan and if you were to take Trent and put him behind an All-Pro OL, he'd probably look pretty damned good. However, we don't have the luxury of an All-Pro OL -- not even close. So, you need a QB who can improvise -- a guy who can move around in the pocket and who isn't afraid to throw the ball into tight coverage when he is being hurried. That guy is Ryan. Given the OL we have now, I want Fitz to be our QB. Is he the answer long term? That's too early to tell. People think Fitz is this aged career backup when in fact he is only a year older than Edwards and has only been in the league an additional two years -- most of which were not spent playing to any significant degree. Trent has more game starts now than Fitz does. Game Starts for Edwards (Total of 32 Starts) 2007.......9 starts as Rookie 2008.......14 starts 2009.......7 starts 2010.......2 starts Game Starts for Fitzpatrick (Total of 23 Starts) 2005.......3 starts as Rookie (Rams) 2006.......0 starts (Rams) 2007.......0 starts (Bengals) 2008.......12 starts (Bengals) 2009.......8 starts (Bills) 2010.......0 starts (Bills) I think each QB made a few additional APPEARENCES in games they didn't start, but this clearly shows that Trent has had more starting opportunities than Fitz. The argument can be made that Edwards had to suffer a different OC each year, but things were not so much better for Fitzpatrick, either. Fitz has had to endure an enormous amount of change in his relatively short career, too. Maybe Fitz is really the one who can benefit from a guy like Chan Gailey rather than Edwards, who just doesn't seem to have the needed toughness for this league. Fitz might just become a fixture at QB in Buffalo if he can turn this team around this season. It could happen.

Not soon enough. Fitz can scramble and a scrambling QB can make a bad line look pretty good.

I'm glad he pulled the trigger NOW on Trent. It had to happen. I admire Chan for making a tough decision like this so early in the season. I was concerned he'd wait it out and then it'd be too late. This tell the team in no uncertain terms that he expects winning performances from his players and he if doesn't get that, then a guy is going to sit -- including the QB that he showed so much faith in during OTAs, training camp, and pre-season. Chan is to be admired here for making this move now instead of later.

LOL. It's a good thing we don't play the Pats* later in the season or else we'd have to spend many MORE games lulling them into a false sense of security besides just 2 games.

I listened to Randy Cross and it seemed to me he was calling out the OTHER receivers on the team to step up. Yes, he took that little jab at Evans by mentioning his salary, but what he was really saying was WHO ELSE is going to step up and be a target for Edwards.

I couldn't take any more after the start of the 2nd half and switched it off. Holy crap -- Edwards intentionally ran out of bounds on 4th-and-11?!?!?!!!!! That is grounds for benching all by itself. Just fling it up for grabs if that's what you have to do? It's no worse than giving the opponent the ball right where he steps out.

Oh, the Sabres -- now I feel SO much better.