Fan in Chicago

The fact that his average salary works out to 9.83333 M/yr is a dead give-away

Problem is that we cannot attempt blitzes unless we get to the QB fast. Blitzing the likes of Brady and EManning, with their quick reads & releases, is fraught with huge risks. For Beck, on the other hand, pin your ears back and go after him every play.

Last night I was talking to a friend in the DC area. He said his Redskin friends are so down on the team that they doubt the Skins will win ANY game for the rest of the season. This is a game the Bills should win with little trouble. But we all know what happens when we think like this.

I think the Bills will not be over-confident cos (1) They took a loss going into the bye week (2) Under Gailey over-confidence has not been a problem. Well, last year we barely won to be over-confident but this year, even after beating NE*, we did not lose any game due to over confidence. I hope our youth movement positively influences our D.

Good. I did not read this far down and was wondering how to vote. Oh well, enjoy - Go Bills !

This sounds like cliche but this game is extremely important for the Bills to win. Consider: - Bills have lost 2 of last three - Coming off a bye week when teams are 3-9 this year - Down to our third LT. Not good against a well sacking team - Merriman gone. Not that he was helping much with the pass rush but we lose a vet presence and have to make do with younger players --> results are uncertain - KWilliams injured --> Will Troup play ? Impact ? - Matchup stats: Bills: overall # O versus Redskins overall # 12 D On D: # 31 D versus Redskins #14 O; # 30 passing D versus Redskins #16 passing O; # 30 rushing D versus Redskins # 20 rushing O On Offense: overall # 10 vs #12 D; #15 passing O vs #11 passing D; #4 rushing O vs #17 rushing D Not a good matchup for our Defense, but titled slightly in the Bills favor on O. What we need to do: - Generate a pass rush, blitz a lot given that they will start sitting-duck Beck - Run, run and run some more. Fred, Brad Smith - Get CJ involved more as a receiver We have edge on OC, HC but unknown edge on DC I am predicting the Bills win 31-23.

Thats a good point. Networks wont voluntarily want to give up a good matchup to a competitor. This problem continues to serve the network at the expense of the viewer entertainment. I don't readily have a solution at hand but in the interest of keeping viewership high, I would think the NFL can work something out with the networks. Maybe every week CBS and Fox can alternate giving up one game every week and that week can be decided by which network has a viable alternative game which is equally intriguing.

Any team, with a a probowl QB, will take a step down with a backup QB. So, it wouldnt be surprising in NO if that were to happen. However, your second point is the one that is at issue here - Indy does not have an overall good roster (injuries further exposed their depth). Pretty much every successful business has planned for a 'hit by a bus' scenario when its success is tied to a single person. Indy has not done that.

Except that reports were that Trent turned down the Dolphins. Not sure where that takes your argument. Are you proposing we change the chant from 'Squish the Fish' to 'Pummel the Mammal' ?

Why, Bruschi ofcourse. I thought you saw Nervous Guy set me straight on that one.

You must not have heard that Tebow is the second coming of the savior

I should have bolded the amount part. That the stock is tanking is no surprise, given the recent news.

That kiss cured the team mates cancer and absolved him of all sins

Perhaps the amount of the stock drop is an over-reaction. However, note that the crux of Netflix's business is the number of active subscribers. Lifetime value of each is quite big and hence a 800K drop is significant considering the amount of money they are having to pay to gain content. Just for kicks and with lot of assumptions, subscriber revenue change = $12/month * 12 months/yr * 5 year subscription life * 800,000 = $ 576 million over five years or $115 million /yr. Much of that is net income. Finally, the market does not know the curve of the drop offs - are the defections increasing ? Steady drop ? Pricing the revenue hit and the uncertainty causes such severe stock price drops. As I have said before, I am stunned that heads havent rolled at Netflix given the strategic, financial and marketing disaster of these past few months.

Skyline The Lovely Bones Batman and Robin Men who stare at Goats Miss Congeniality Drag me to Hell

It is not a matter of what the recent success has been. If you are satisfied with one ring after having one of the best QBs ever to play the game, more power to you. But this is equivalent to saying that Cowher is a genius HC when in fact, he should have had one or two more rings with that defense. If the Bills were led by PM for 10+ years, I would have expected more rings. Again, see the success of the Pats* with arguably a less superior QB.

Which begs the question - did the Saints have to run up the score ?

Bill, with all due respect, how can you write 1-4 and then absolve Polian of blame ? I think Polian has to take the blame for this mess of a team sans PM. As far as teams, minus QBs, go I hate to admit that the Pats* are far superior to the Colts. It is not just about having drafted/acquired a decent backup QB. But, also about building an overall team that does not depend so severely on one player. The corollary point I made several weeks back is that if Polian was that good, and with PM at QB, the COlts should have won at least 1-2 more superbowls. I hear what you say about salary, but then the negotiations should have centered around a number (PM's comprensation) that does not restrict team building. All in all, I place the blame squarely at Polian's feet. And maybe the Colts fans realize that, in the long run, it is better that this situation happened (note: I am NOT cheering an injury) now instead of later. The process of team building can begin now and in the next offseason and not when PM was ready to retire.

As someone else suggested, maybe the answer is in flex scheduling. The first half of the season can be scheduled based on last year's performance and the second half based on this season's performance. That way we dont have to look for things to do at 9 pm on Sundays, by which time the games are pretty much decided.

Two points: (1) I am not much for extrapolating short term success so let us see how Maybin plays the rest of the season before proclaiming he is a good pass rusher (2) If indeed he turns out to be good, then imagine the talent we already have that is being unused. Carrington, Moats, Troup, Batten could all be part of a stellar defense if indeed it is a DC at fault

Not too sure that we would win with KW in there in the Giants game. Our problem recently has been the coverage by LBers. While Barnett has been excellent in stopping the run, our overall ability to cover short to medium passes has left a lot to be desired. This may be why Shep gets the start over ADavis. We have decent depth at DT position and while KWilliams makes it better, it appears the drop off may not be very significant. And if Troup plays well (which I have been waiting to see since last year), we may have one of the best front 3 in the NFL.

While I did not see pressure on every play, it was certainly there. But, as others have pointed out, Fitz has dealt with it in the past admirably. Maybe he had a spat with his girl, maybe he had a hangover (I am joking ofcourse) but he was off just a bit that day. Another thing I wanted to mention is that Gailey's offense is designed to work around the shortcomings of the OL as well as Fitz. While the line has looked good, it is a bit handcuffed in not being able to have a deep passing game. This points to needs we have on the OL as well as at the WR position. We are adequate for now but to need upgrades to take that next step.

Yes Fitz was very upset. But he was upset after the first INT also. I am surprised/disappointed to see him do the same mistake twice in the same game. Maybe on that day he did not have the short term memory he usually does. BTW, when Fitz came to the sideline after that second INT, I saw Gailey give him an encouraging pat on his rear almost to say ' yea u screwed up but its okay'. I liked it - it is a sign that Gailey knows Fitz is motivated and he will be hard on himself so no point in rubbing it in. Gailey would probably be in his face if Fitz had an i-dont-care attitude.

Considering that Gailey brought along last year's rookies slowly, this move is quite a vote of confidence in Shep's talent and maturity level. Hope we get better coverage than what we have seen. With Merriman out, Dareus a starter from Day 1 & Shep over Davis, the Bills youth movement on D is in full session. (I bet the coaching staff cannot wait for A Williams to get healthy)

With the amount a ball (in an sport) moves and bounces, I am more likely to get a headache than a different perspective.