Fan in Chicago

Don't draft a DB or RB with your first pick or you will be in Bill in NYC's dog house for the rest of your career j/k Seriously: - be pragmatic in recommending draft picks without sticking to need or BPA - Give straight responses to questions without being cute or condescending (unless you are responding to Sully) - Trust your play makers such as Spiller, Mario, Gilmore and whichever QB you draft. Unchain them - Make sure Byrd, Levitre don't hit the street - Out-coach Bill Belichick and when the Pats* are down by a 3 scores late in the game, score a couple more TDs

Or Matt

Shanahan should have played it safe without question. I used to play tennis (a decidedly more pansy sport, I admit) and on a couple of occasions, played with a sprained ankle. In the heat of the match, the pain didn't seem near as bad but later the doc said I should never have continued playing. Call it adrenaline, call it a a desire to not be seen as a wuss, the player is not always the best judge of his own health. wassup, SJBF ?

So the moral is that if you want to keep looking young, don't coach the Bills.

Even though this is about last month's game, yesterday it was obvious that RGIII was in pain. Especially when he scrambled to the left sideline for a first down, he was limping. Having seen him sprint and cut in earlier games this season, it was evident he is not the same physically. I was hoping that he had been cleared to continue playing but if I am the coach, I err on the safe side and take him out. The play when his knee sorta buckled was also cringe-inducing. It was apparent that it didnt take much to have that knee give out from under him. Aikman was also calling for Cousins in the 3rd quarter. Would have been a wise and safe choice.

Killdrive (Kevin Gilbride's drive killing play calling) Did someone see them at Tempo ? (self explanatory) Boo boo foot (crayonz referring to Kyle Williams getting injured after a big contract)

I may have missed that but had heard Lovie is interviewing this weekend. regardless, McCoy was a plug for my argument which (as Jay sais above) is that coordinators of wild card teams seem to get a bit of the shaft during open competition for the available jobs.

Seems like a game to me. What if they liked, say, Lovie and Horton. But they wouldn't know if one of these are better than McCoy as they haven't spoken to him ? What happens then ? Do they wait for McCoy to become available and risk losing Lovie and Horton to other teams ? To state the obvious, exhaustive searches cannot be in a vacuum. IMHO, there is a case to be made that no interviews and hiring happen till after the Superbowl.

I posted those stats a.couple of pages back. Gailey helped Fitz to his best yards/game and TDs per season. But his td/int ratio and QB rating has stayed close to his career averages. Which gives credence to the theory that 'Fitz will be Fitz'. But Smith improved and posted his best performances in the last two seasons

Maybe. I think fans' expectations keep adjusting upwards. When Fitz replaced TrentEdwards, this board (including me) were very happy. “he has guts”, “gun slinger” got people excited. I was happier primarily because he was willing to attempt more throws, read defenses better and not telegraph the next play. Yet, here we are waiting to run him out of town. So, I agree that if Smith was our QB, we would have found his game very conservative and not strong enough to win the big battles. However, I have faith that the next coaching staff will use the available players better and our D will take a big leap upwards with the addition of a couple of LBs. So, in effect we should have mre success with Smith at the helm. This move, should we make it, should not prevent us from drafting the long term answer in this draft or the next. But it buys us time. Care to support with some data ?

You want the Pats* to win ???

Let us see: Alex Smith Lifetime: 59.3% completion, 14,280 yards, 179 yards/game, 81 TD, 63 INTs for a 1.28 TD/INT ratio. Rate of 79.1% Alex Smith Last 3 years (his best have been the last two but I threw in one additional year to even things out: 62.7% completion, 7251 yards, 207 yards/game, 44 TD, 20 INTs for a 2.2 TD/INT ratio. Rate of ~ 90+ (I didnt have exact calcs) RF Lifetime: 59.5% completion, 14,336 yards, 193.7 yards/game, 92 TD, 81 INTs for a 1.14 TD/INT ratio. Rate of 76.8% RF Last 3 years: 60.3% completion, 10,232 yards, 227 yards/game, 71 TD, 54 INTs for a 1.31 TD/INT ratio. Rate of ~82% So,: - Alex Smith has improved over the years and his statistical best years have been the last two. - AS is much better TD/INT than RF over past 3 years - RF throws for 10%+ more yards/game - AS has a better QB rating - AS has a better completion rate over past three years - RF throws for more TDs/game (1.57 versus 1.29) over past 3 years RF's air game is much better. But AS is more conservative and has been throwing a lot less picks per TD. None of these prove that AS will give us a dynamic passing offense but he is less likely to make critical mistakes. Also, from what I have seen, he has the arm to make the sideline throws which RF lacks. Not a long term solution , but I prefer AS over RF just cos he is less likely to lose games for us.

Yes and of the fired HCs, Lovie is the one that makes the most sense. Plusses: Strong defense year after year Coached a cold-weather, outdoor stadium team Good track record of successful seasons Negatives: Nearly clueless on the O-side Loyal to a fault regarding his coordinators. E.g. took a long time to kick pass-happy Martz in the rear and make him balance the O Poor record versus a key divisional opponent (Packers) Neutral: Boring press conferences Perceived laid-back style (is this true in the locker room ?) IMHO, the Bears made a big mistake by firing Lovie. And the candidates they are interviewing don't inspire much confidence either save for McCoy: offensive coordinators Mike McCoy (Broncos), Tom Clements (Packers) and Mike Sullivan (Buccaneers) and special teams coaches Keith Armstrong (Falcons) and Joe DeCamillis (Cowboys). Really ?

It certainly seems that the changes at OBD and the current roster are making Buffalo more attractive to coaches than in the past. I wouldn't be too upset if Lovie is hired. Get Marinelli as DC and Norv Turner as OC and we are golden

I think you are not renting a car, but if you do, Houmas House (about 45 min-1 hr drive)is a nice plantation to visit and it also has very good lunch. Walk around in their gardens before or after lunch. I think they have special dinner times, but call them to check.

Good job, Scott. Very fitting that you represent the board in the media. I suppose now we will see a flood of new posters with this exposure?!

yes, fully agree. Lovie rarely had a team talented in all groups. Spend on Peppers (good idea), ignore that the LB's are getting old (bad idea). Acquire Marshall, ignore the OL. Underwhelming Carimi. It is no wonder that early rumors point to the Bears aggressively pursuing Levitre. having said that, if we hire Lovie, I still want dedicated OC and DC to help him out. I think the HC should do just one job.

IMHO, Lovie will get quite a few interviews and not just to satisfy the Rooney requirement. He has been fairly stable here in Chicago and has suffered through years of an inconsistent roster. His major failing is not having a good OC under him (Cutler leading a Martz offense !!!). But time will tell how much interest Lovie generates.

Can someone link this speech ? Maybe I am dense but I can't seem to find it on buffalobills.com or wgr

I don't believe it. I have been told repeatedly that no coach wants to come here. Must be the wanna-be low level coordinators who can't find a job.

Point taken. But all humans should have an optimistic view of life, no ? Else we can grow old being curmudgeons.

Indeed. But the noise created by these posters drowns out reasonable discussion and hijacks perfectly logical threads. Make no mistake, when Nix et al took over, I was cautiously optimistic. I did not say it was a bad or great move because there was no way to know how they would handle the organization. We should afford the new management/coaching structure (whatever shape it takes) the same courtesy. If every move is seen as 'same old' or 'bottom of the barrel' or incestuous, then there really is no point in being a supportive fan of this team.

Disagreement has never been seen as a problem here. What gets the reasonable posters' goat, is the relentless cynicism, misinformed blathering and negativity to every move that the FO makes.

I agree. He owes it to himself to, proverbially, shop around. He has been resilient, steady and an excellent guard. I wish we retain his services else it will be a huge hole in an otherwise promising OL. I am not sure we have to make a choice between Byrd and Levitre as we should have enough money to sign both. Plus, push comes to shove, Fitz should be asked to re-structure to save cap space.

You cannot be serious.