MRW

If you look at how the Jets knocked off the Pats in the playoffs, they did it with a good pass rush, sure, but it was a pass rush that was aided by stellar secondary play. I remember watching that game and Brady was getting frustrated by having nowhere to throw the ball. It's a team sport. I'm not wild about throwing more resources into the secondary, but sometimes you have to keep trying until you get it right.

I don't see the problem, it looks like the truest statement the Bleacher Report has ever published.

Big Ben didn't start from day 1, he only came in because Maddox got hurt.

I know Dick Jauron favored smaller players but I didn't think he left the team that bad off.

I think it all started going wrong once William McKinley was shot. Without that presidential assassination hanging over our heads I bet Buffalo could've picked up one of the original NFL teams.

Depends how they fail. I felt that the offense was actually competently coached (for the first time in years), but faltered down the stretch due to lack of talent. If it's the same situation next year, I look at Nix before I blame Gailey. Now defensively, with Wannstedt on board to help Edwards (plus - hopefully - some real investment through the draft and FA), there had better be some real improvement, or both Nix and Gailey should feel the heat.

Well, here's what Caleb Hanie had to say about Cutler's input. It doesn't show heavy involvement in breaking down defenses, but it does indicate engagement in the game. Specifically these quotes from Hanie mirror what my overall point would be: None of us were there on the sidelines, at best we saw tiny snippets of what was going on. I don't think it's possible for us to know how involved and enthusiastic Cutler really was. On the other hand, to engage in some speculation based on my own preconceived notions, it would not surprise me one bit if Mike Martz didn't care about the players' thoughts when they weren't on the field, and basically told Cutler to butt out of his coaching. That's admittedly unfair based on the argument I've just been making on behalf on Cutler, but hey, I just don't like Martz.

Honestly? I don't think anything could've been done. I think fans form irrational perceptions of players and everything gets filtered through that lens. Someone who hates Cutler sees a 5-second shot of him listening to an earphone on the sidelines and it's just confirmation of their belief that he's not a team player. Wrap his leg up and put him on crutches, the complaint would be that's he's milking his injury and trying to make it look worse than it really is. In the middle of a conference championship game, the team has more important things to worry about than how irrational fans are going to twist the situation to fit their preconceived notions.

The Colts are both a testament to the impact a great QB can have and an illustration of the limits of that impact. I agree with you that mediocre-to-bad drafting seems to be catching up with them.

What is there to respond to? Someone makes an anonymous comment to Jay Glazer and suddenly it's a PR disaster? If you get worked up over that it's not the Bills' fault.

I see absolutely no gain to the Bills organization addressing off the record comments relayed through a reporter.

Give a QB Moss's character and you get Ryan Leaf. QBs can't get by on pure athletic talent.

I'd like Sullivan to have to run, but I really don't want to see it.

Does calling a guy a "#1" or "#2" receiver really mean a damn thing beyond people's obsessive need to rank everything? How many plays are run with one receiver on the field? It's a passing league, your top two receivers are going to be starters and play the vast majority of offensive snaps. If Evans isn't good enough to be a starter, then I'll be concerned about his salary. But arguing about whether he or Johnson is "#1" strikes me as pointless.

IMO the battle for Luck was lost when the Lions failed their two-point conversion last week. Carolina is really, really awful and I don't think the Bills could keep pace with them in a loss competition. And based on everything I've been reading about the top college players there isn't really that great a disadvantage to picking #5 as opposed to #2. Lots of guys with big question marks.

I agree with you. I can appreciate that when all is said and done a higher draft pick will be better for the team but rooting for a loss just doesn't seem right. But yeah, especially now that the team has that first win, losses aren't too hard to tolerate.

Of all the threads I've read justifying a person's existence, this is my favorite.

Let's start him off at captain and see how it goes.

By that logic the Bills should just replace the entire team. After all, they're not winning, so there's no need to make a determination about who is playing well and who isn't.

No way I'd want Cutler. I actually thought the Bills should have gone after him when he was on the trading block, but now I'm glad they didn't. That's completely independent of my opinion of Fitzpatrick, BTW. Cutler's just one of those guys who will dazzle you with his physical abilities, but make boneheaded play after play. Wouldn't want to see him anywhere near the team.

This is the bottom line. The users who read this post and agree that there's a problem were never part of the problem to begin with. Absent moderator action, nothing's going to change. And this has been a place that has tolerated nasty insults and driving disliked posters off the board as long as I've been here.

I have no idea how you got that out of what he wrote except by willfully misreading it.

Sorry, you just don't pull a guy who's performing like Fitz is right now. I don't think there's ever been a coaching staff in a professional league that would do that.

I guess I did miss it. Maybe I was too busy watching the TDs. Seriously, if the coaches were to pull Fitzpatrick and put in Brohm now that would be a sign that they shouldn't be coaching in the NFL. Odds are very good that Brohm will get his chance, based on the performance of the offensive line this year. When he does, it's on him to be ready for it. But no way you pull a guy who's put up 7 TDs in 3 games.

If we're counting almost-wins as wins now, the Bills have made the playoffs 3 of the last 4 years.