Bill from NYC

Great! Sounds like a plan.

Thanks. The rule changes handed receivers the middle of the field. DBs such as Atkinson, Tatum, Lott, and many other used to destroy receivers for going over the middle. Was Tatum even penalized when he paralyzed Stingley? When Peyton Manning "carried" the colts to superbowls, those teams were, imo, mediocre. HE was great. A running back does not seem to be able to do this today. This was the point that I failed to articulate clearly. And btw, I do not back down from my stance that drafting rbs and/of dbs in the top 10 is a good idea.

I will never apologize for having opinions about the Bills. I love this team, and I am, at all times, a very proud Bills fan. That said, my comments about Spiller, "carrying a team" obviously came off wrong. I am sorry for this. The truth is, he is playing extremely well. More truth is that I didn't expect this, given the fact that great RBs usually don't take much time to develop. They are gifted. They can run, and the really great ones have instincts as well. Look at Yeldon at Alabama if you will. This kid, if he doesn't get hurt, looks like he will enter the NFL as a superstar. Spiller took some time, but that's ok at this point. In any event, Spiller is playing beyond my expectations, and I praise him for this. Taking it a step further, he is blocking, and clutching the football with both arms (btw, so is McKelvin on returns). This is huge. I support him, and will not try to justify the "carry a team" comment, other than to state that a RB might not be able to do ths in our new league. One last comment.....the title of my post is NOT, "Expert, Beyond Dispute Opinions." No, I sit with a pen and notebook, and try to catch special plays. I focus most on line play. Btw, the hardest thing to catch, for wehatever reason, is the play of the right guard. I welcome disagreement, always have. Most of us here probably have WAY too much invested in this team. Place me high on that list. But I, along with you, am here to stay in terms of dreaming of things going right for our franchise. And often, emotion enters into my "thoughts," making them sometimes less clear. But one more time, I really am sorry to have not been clear enough, and to have been mis-interpreted. GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He may very well be our best player at this point. He's certainly our best skill player, and I too would like to see him get more touches. But as another poster added, there are few players in the league other than great qbs who can actually carry a team. Years ago, rbs such as Earl Canpbell, John Riggins, OJ, and many others were "carrying" teams. Today, the teams with the best rbs aren't necessarily winning. Again, I have been praising Spiller most of the season,. and noted his fantastic move on the screen. I am sorry that my OP was misleading. Spiller was NOT, in any way, to blame for this loss. His game has totally improved, to the point where he is a consistent threat, and his blocking even improved. I guess the "carry a team" remark was better served for a different thread.

He was bad today no doubt. Overall, he is an OK player, but the Bills do need another TE. We have neglected this position for way too long.

Dude, you would be well served to stay away from my threads, no? I understand how little you have to offer, I will help you get started. Try to come up with an original thought, and couple it with some sort of humor and/or personality. If this is too tough for you to comprehend, I'm really sorry, but I did try.

Ralph spent approx. 140 million dollars on DEs. Even though Kelsay wasn't one of them, these guys need to be going after qbs, NOT covering receivers, or even fbs. That is why we have so many 1st and 2nd round dbs on the team, no?

I fully agree. Am I not spelling it out correctly? That said, I would still rather see FJ or even the FB get the carry on 3rd and 1.

What is your agenda? Do you think that Spiller will ever carry this team? How about other, better rbs such as Adrian Peterson? Those days are gone. I have praised Spiller more often than not this season. He is playing well. But he will never carry this football team. If you disagree, please enlighten us. Never mind.....I am thinking that you have oh so little to add.

The game has changed. QBs are able to carry teams more than rbs. And even back in the old days, how many small rbs were able to carry their team?

1) Dareus is breaking my heart. He is. He had a play or 2 today, but overall he was rather pedestrian. It can go either way. He can shake the sophmore blues, or he can be a defensive Mike Williams. Our history doesn't paint a pretty picture and it really does suck. I had very high hopes for this kid. 2) Let's talk about Gilmore, shall we? I for one think that he sucked today. Sure, he made a play or 2. And yes I know, he was trying to cover a great receiver. I get it. But so far, he is just another under-achieving, wasted pick on a defensive back. He will probably wind up being better overall than Whitner. Is everybody happy? I am an inch away from calling him a complete waste of a pick. 3) Spiller made an off the charts move on the screen pass early in the 2nd quarter. Seriously. He isn't ready to carry the team. He never will be. But he really has talent. 4) Someone help me out.....why call a wildcat AFTER a timeout? Isn't the purpose of a wildcat play to confuse your opponent? And, wtf was the point of a wildcat to Spiller? Brad Smith wasn't doing so bad, was he? 5) OK....this is f----d up......When Aaron Williams got hurt, I found myself to be in the situation of Chief fans when Cassel went down. Here is the end result.....I didn't want the kid to be seriously injured. Not even a bit. But I was actually glad to see him out of the game. He is one of the worst players that I have ever had the displeasure to watch. He completely sucks, and does not belong on an NFL roster. McKelvin? Rogers? They suck too in terms of playng corner, but AW is worse. You tell me.....did I take the high road? 6) I watched Cordy Glenn as much as I could for the entire game. Mixed reviews. In our first series of downs, he actually held off his opponent by extending his left arm. This would seem impossible. But overall, he had a not so great day. I understand this; he was playing against a great Wade Phillps defense, and he is a rookie. But his showing today overall was not good. Sorry. 7) Did you see Kelsay in pass coverage midway in the 3rd quarter? Wanny won't stop this insanity. He just won't, and he should be fired tonight. 8) Broken heart don't feel so bad, You ain't got half of what you thought you had. Rock your baby to and fro, Not too fast and not too slow, And I say row, Jimmy, row Gonna get there, I don't know Seems a common, way to go Get down and row, row, row, row, row 9) You want to know what this team needs? It needs two people. Bill Polian and Wade Phillips. It wouldn't matter is Ralph was 194 years old. Polian could build a winner. And Wade is a defensive genius. There is no disputing this imo. 10) Fitz wasn't so bad today. Levitre and Wood didn't play so well, nor did Urbik. And he still made some nice throws. This is not a call for him to lead us to the promised land. But to be fair, he did all he could. 11) The defense got fooled by the play action left time after time. There is no excuse fior this. Wanny should have been fired weeks ago, but tonight would be ok too. 12) Hang in there folks. There is nothing good in sight, but we are who we are, and we will not abandon this team. We can't. 13) GO BILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Absolutely John. And to irk you just a bit more, I heard Levy on Sirius right after the draft say that he had numerous trade down offers, and some were offering more than a 2nd round pick.

A good rule of thumb is when Cutler and Donte Whitner are available, you select Cutler (or perpaps 20 other players that were available in that great draft).

Buddy was 100% right to reassure him. Fitz has limitations, this is nothing new. But he is a seemingly good guy. We don't want him to give up, and he could. He is financially set for life, and a graduate of Harvard. What Buddy needs to do is look in the mirror. In his first draft, he selected a running back at #9, and a bunch of disasters. This, with extra picks in rounds 6 and 7. And before anybody jumps down my throat and tells me that Spiller is now playing very well, I AGREE. But we need to win games. In his second draft, he took a DT at #3, one who, imo, will be a good player. He was last year. And to his credit, he STOLE an OT (Hairston) in round 4. But, Buddy didn't want Mallett or Dalton in rounds 2 and 3.. He wanted a corner who sucks, and a very questionable MLB. In this draft, Buddy had an extra 7th, and an extra 4th, which btw he used on Hairston (25th selection of round 4). With the 3rd pick of round 4, Buddy took Searcy. In all, not a great draft when you pick 3rd. Last years draft is too early to rate, but it looks as if he stole another OT in round 2. Gilmore at #10? We shall see. The above is just the draft. The biggest blunder imo was Wanny. He looks like a Jauron wannabee. Kyle Williams in coverage? Who's next? Dareus? Nix could have, once and for all, purged the weak, timid, losing Levy/Jauron philosophy on defense. Instead, he made it worse by bringing in Wanny. So yes, it really is OK for Buddy to appease Fitz just a bit. Buddy created this mess more than Fitz.

OK, my friend. Now, allow me to take YOU to task if you will..... Notice the bolded? As you surely recall, I wanted the Bills to trade down and select Hightower, who NE traded UP to draft. Instead, we drafted a corner in the top 10. You, as I remember, liked this pick. Our secondary boasts 2 early first rounders, and two very early second rounders. How's it looking these days? As per the ownership, I agree, and always have. Count me as one who thinks that 2006 was the last straw. TD had messed up. He had drafted a fat RT with a chronic ankle injury at #4 (Williams), and traded up for a 1st round qb who couldn't play (Losman). How did we right the ship in 2006? By bringing in 2 incompetent football men (Levy/Jauron) who nobody else wanted. Forget about not drafting Ngata. Seriously, that entire draft was absolutely stacked. Our first 4 picks consisted of 3 DBs who ranged from OK to garbage, and a DT who sucked. And we traded away an early 3rd round pick to accomplish this. The above is ALL on Ralph. This season, Ralph actually dug DEEP into his pocket and again, Nix used a top 10 pick on a player who was popular here in April, all to play defense. So what happened? Jauron Part Deux. Kyle Williams is alone in coverage, standing still 15 yards downfield on 3rd and 9. A penetrating DT, trying to cover the middle. Yeah, OK. And it's been posted that Kelsay too is out on coverage. Great! Couple the above with bizarre clock management before the half, week after week, odds plays at inopportune times, etc. Much of this is the fault of the coaching staff, or so I see it.

I know about Arizona's OTs. And while they truly are bad, it's still hard to understand going from dominance to the toilet in a week. Especially wrt Dareus, who plays inside. As fior the drafting corners thing, I don't want to get started, but here's one for ya.....how many corners have we drafted and/or signed as UFAs since Winfield left? Painful, ya know?

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Actually, I was thinking about it, but the mood was so somber that I was lookong at, "Row Jimmy Row." Althea is in my top 5 favorites. I'm gonna PM you a version, and I won't let it happen again!

1) I am unable to figure out what is happening wrt Dareus and Mario. Dareus, despite his stats, was a key player in our victory over Arizona. I know what I was seeing. He was out-muscling his opponent, and played a key role in the safety. Last week he was sub-pedestrian. Why? Mario too was on fire vs. the Cards. How can you go from THAT good to THAT bad? I am not shy about offering opinions, but I can't figure this out. 2) Spiller deserves heaps of praise. Last week he made yards on his own. blocked pass rushers, and held the ball. This in addition to doing what he was drafted to do. 3) This OL is probably the best, and definitely the deepest in the history of the franchise. They have at least 7, and perhaps 8 men who can play. It is a pleasure to see them perform so well. 4) Wanny is the worst DC that I have ever had the displeasure to watch. Kyle Williams in coverage? Wanny is absolutely killing this team. 5) Nothing new to say about Fitz. He is just too limited and inconsistent. That said, I wish he would run it himself more often. 6) The wildcat does NOT suck. It provides us with first downs, and puts the football in the hands of Smith. 7) Props to McKelvin. He is actually thrilling to watch on returns. 8) I hope that Gilmore starts making plays. He has the tools, but a game changing play isn't much to ask from a kid who was drafted as high as he was. 9) Pay attention if you will to AJ McCarron tonight if you get a chance. He is starting to remind me of Fitz, but with less mistakes and a somewhat better, and more accurate arm. 10) The worst thing about this season imo is the dejection of the fanbase, not that I blame anyone or am exempt. If we could have just held on last week, a freak win over Houston or NE would have kept us in the picture. It's a longshot for sure, but I am holding out against hope for a win vs. the Texans. 11) Go Bills!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Quite pleased indeed. Even last week, missing 2 starters including the LT, the Bills were able to run well, and Fitz's stats made him appear, on paper, to be an accurate quarterback. Things have changed SO much that I have posted things defending Pears lol! Take away Peters when he played RT, and tell me the last RT we had who was even almost as good as Pears. And Hairston is already better than Bell ever was. As you know, I conceded the importance of the qb position, given the rule changes. Fitz isn't getting it done. We all know this. That said, the defense is a seperate issue, but it is a HUGE one. Kyle Williams and Kelsey in pass coverage tells you each and every thing you need to know about Wanny. He is literally horrible, and killing this team imo.

You are correct. This call would not have been overturned.

I for one do hope that you reconsider. Please keep in mind that this was a horrible loss, and that because of the seemingly great offseason signings, we were ill prepared for such futility. Either way, I hope to see you back and talk some more football.

Whoa!!! I like dialogue, and welcome differing views. I don't even care if this poster disregards my views based on where I live. Do you seriously think this bothers me? What would give you this impression? Did I seem upset in my response to him? I have no idea why you would warn someone against criticizing my views. Are you suggesting that I try to get people banned? I don't have the power you seem to imply that I do, and absolutely have no interest in this, or any other poster being banned. Things like this are up to SDS and the mods, and they will absolutely not be getting a complaint from me.

Gotta respectfully, but strongly disagree. Look at the roster. We used to trot out players to block such as Greg Jerman, Jerry Ostroski, a gimpy John Fina, a nearly crippled Joe Panos, etc. Teams would beat us physically. We now have 3 good OTs, 3, perhaps 4 good OGs, and a fine center. There are 2 areas on the roster in which we need lots of help imo. 1 is LB, but the giants won a superbowl with a school teacher back there. The other is obviously qb, which is the most important. I was NEVER one to blame the scheme on either side of the ball for our losses. In my thousands of post I ripped into poor drafting, weak OLs, and lack of talent. Not as much now John. If anyone (NOT aimed at you) that it is ever OK for Kyle Williams to drop back into pass coverage and stand there alone (as the opponent converts 3rd and long), then there isn't much I can say. PS: The receivers really aren't so bad either. They actually, unlike many past Bills receivers, get open. Giving Fitz better receivers would be like giving me a brand new Gibson guitar. I would be the same lousy guitarist on a better piece of equipment.

And btw, Mario Williams was also a non-factor. Sad indeed.

I don't want to fight you, nor will I attempt to justify to you how much I care about, and how much of my energy and money I have devoted to the Buffalo Bills football team. Be well, my fellow Bills fan!