Fan in Chicago

Rush yards allowed/ game Bills = 172 Ravens = 91 Interceptions Bills = 13 (tied for league lead with Saints) Ravens = 7 Defense rankings (overall, rush, pass) Bills = 24, 32, 10 Ravens = 19, 7, 23 Glaring disparity in our pass versus rush defenses. If we had a couple of good LBs, we would be a playoff defense.

I have surely seen him telegraph his plays

From a sure-hands perspective, perhaps TO.

If you don't look at him, you won't see him. Doesn't mean he has disappeared.

That is what good receivers do. They put in the extra effort in making catches, in fighting and reaching for the ball - not an entirely unique or fresh concept. Not all completed passes are perfectly thrown, by ANY QB and there isn't always an opportunity for a receiver to be wide open. The skill is in the receiver adjusting to make a play. I am not saying Fitz had a stellar day, by any means. But knocking him for those completions is stupid. BTW, I counted two passes which TO made no effort to catch/hold on to.

And in cold and windy conditions

Trent started yesterday's game so I believe it goes in his 'W' column

I am not as down as you are on the overall D. Yes we are dead last in rushing defense but are # 4 in passing D. Sure you can say that 'why should teams pass when they can run so well on us'. BUt I argue that we have not allowed the opposing passing game to be very good, especially these past two weeks. We are suffering because of terrible LB play and the the injury to Whitner. Again, I am not entirely sure the DE play is so bad as to risk giving too many snaps to a rookie.

I think Kelsay's good play this year and pre-empted the need to play Maybin more. He is bring broken in gradually because the starters are playing adequately and we cannot afford rookie mistakes with our low scoring O not affording the D the luxury of experimentation.

What mattered is he got both feet planted inbounds before he fell outside. And we are disputing the over-ruling and hence the officials' incompetence. Not debating if there is a conspiracy against the Bills.

So throw to him many times with the hope that he starts catching them ? Come on.... And how does a QB gain confidence in him if TO, at inopportune times, drops or makes no effort to come up with the ball ? I have been very disappointed in TO so far. The 'decoy' act will only go as far as his reputation takes him. Opposing DCs will sense his unreliability and will stop falling for the decoy stunt and dare him to consistently catch balls on critical downs leaving us no better than we were last year in the WR department. I, for one, would like to see more of Steve Johnson and Hardy.

I like your irrationally exuberant optimism.

The threads were merged just as I was posting.

Rush dropped from group bidding for Rams

RW, Russ, Modrak, Guy, 53 Buffalo players ...

I am sure you can dream. But can you use the search function on this forum ?

Fully agree. Had my doubts this inexperienced line and personnel could pull off the no huddle successfully and is being sadly confirmed. Huddle up, change blocking schemes, get Runyan - do whatever is necessary to put a semblance of an NFL offense on the field. If protection changes for the better, then we can hope to see a more effective Trent.

A second ? Really ? AND a receiver ? See what Matt Cassell netted NE* and Cassell was the starter for a year, did quite well playing and led his team to a winning season. I have not seen Quinn playing but if we are going to get him, no more than a third pick.

With JP and Evans, the common complaint was that they are one-trick ponies. But that was one more trick than what we are currently witnessing. Kinda sad

Some argue that not much will change with a HC change in mid-season. My argument is that things cannot get measurably worse. If anything, it will send a message of accountability. If players like Dockery and Walker were let go in the off-season for being ineffective (especially at the salary being paid), then DJ should be no different. At this point, he is adding no value to the team and is presiding over the regression of the O and even our once-vaunted ST.

Much as I hate to acknowledge what you wrote is true, it probably is. In the coming off-season, there will be yet another marketing gimmick (new coach, 1 star FA signing) to sell tickets again. At some point, the fans should say "I will buy the season tickets once you prove that you have put a competitive and winning product on the field". And also this 'move the team' bluff will be called. RW is making good money off of the team, there is little reason or appetite for him to move. And if ticket sales fall, the value of the team will go down making a move even more difficult.

I have to wonder what happened to that league leading returner we knew and loved so much. It was very evident after several seasons that he is not cut out to be a WR but his value as a returner was very high. But this year, he is neither returning well nor making any good decisions back there. Make no mistake - he is one of the reasons we lost yesterday but not the sole reason. With the limited success the Browns were having on O, it would not have taken much to win yesterday's game despite Parrish's bone-headed plays. I truly believe his having been on the trading block created a major dis-incentive for him to play well. Not using it as a justification but this seems to be another case where we have to stick to using him as we have slim options. Perhaps April should just tell him to fair catch every ball and just go down immediately.

They wouldn't need one either ...

Thread title is misleading. Key words above are "should consider'

Priceless !!! In any case, for the life of me I cannot recall Trent talking smack. I can go with Red's recollection above though I find it amusing that Fowler would talk badly about anybody's D-Line.