gobillsinytown

I spoke with an ortho guy also. He said pretty much the same thing although qualified it with: "It depends on the individual and the exact spot of the break". But since Wood is an athlete in prime condition and by all accounts a tough guy, he should have a high pain tolerance to handle the rehab. He's going to have to keep working the leg and unfortunately it's going to hurt to do so. And since he got great care right away, I think the outlook is pretty good. We need guys like him along the line.

There is an advantage in not starting him. He stays fresh, and it gives him a chance to do what he does best: ballhawk. I haven't seen too many Bills' games this year, but he seems to have an instinct as to where the QB is going with the ball. That can't be taught, and let's hope increased playing time on running downs doesn't detract from his performance.

Looks like Randy is arriving right on schedule. It wouldn't suprise me if Bellicheck sits him just out of spite. Clash of the egos.

Maybe he's getting so ticked off at low playing time that he's actually turning it up. Some extra pounds with a dose of nastiness will get him into the lineup quick enough.

I think there's one thing we can agree on.......Sharpe, Wilcots, Marino = unwatchable.

Living here in Ytown, Ohio I get a lot of Steelers coverage. Lots of Steelers fans here. Their biggest problem is the regression of the offensive line. That's the one area of a team that can go on you really fast, as Bills' fans know. It's also really hard for a team that won the SB the previous year to maintain the same level of play. The days of back to back SB's are over. And Polamalu getting hurt really affected the defense. I think he's the best safety in the league because not only is he physically special, but he's the quarterback of the defense.

Even better. Wilson seems to be another bright spot. Now all we need is about 8 or 9 more bright spots and we're set!

So he did get a pick today? Didn't see the game. Good. Might as well focus on the few bright spots.

Agree. While he's capable of playing at a very high level, the motivation level is definitely suspect. And this is only his first year with the team. If Philly starts to fade, look for his performance to drop.

Jerry Sullivan doesn't have an emotional investment in the Bills? Yeah. It's one thing to look at the merits of finishing with a lower record. It's another to actually root for the team to lose. If the players go out there with that mentality, there are going to be more injuries. Can't play the game at half speed. The one thing that Jerry doesn't take into account is the fact that the first round of the draft is a guessing game, with a success rate of just about 50 percent. I don't care how much money some of the other teams have and how much they're willing to spend, or how cheap Ralph is perceived as being. What businessesman would waste millions of dollars on someone that turns out to be a bust? How much money on the Williams contract did they have to eat? No businessman however wealthy just throws away that kind of money. Another thing that Jerry conveniently overlooks: Most of the top teams in the league like to trade down or out of the first round altogether. Why is that? Because they know first round picks are agent and hype driven.

When a team is signing street free agents on Monday to start the following Sunday, there's going to be problems with the offense. Kelly knows what kinds of problems that's going to cause, particularly in pass protection. I'd say it's the number one contributor.

The ONLY thing the NFL gets nervous about is empty luxury boxes. [/quote There, fixed.

Dungy is a fine coach and a fine person, but I think he's going to stay retired. I thnk the death of his son took a lot out of him, and a return to coaching would take him away from his family. I'm not sure where some of these rumors get started, but Dungy bringing Vick with him to some potential job is just bizarre.

The surgeon reported that the surgery was "successful", meaning that he was able to repair the fractures without loss of bone. This doesn't necessarily mean that he'll be able to play again. That will depend on how well the bones heal and how his rehab goes. By all accounts, he's a tough kid, so his pain tolerance is probably quite high. He'll need that for the early portion of the rehab. He has to work the leg to prevent muscle and tendon atrophy, but it's going to hurt to do it. Some guys have come back from this injury with no issues, while others haven't. It depends on the exact nature ofthe break and where it occured, how it heals, and the rehab. I hope he makes it back with a nasty attitude towards opposing defensive linemen.

Like some on this thread, I don't have a problem with Maybin himself, but with the pick. Maybin has shown flashes of ability, but he was clearly a project, not someone who could play right away. That's why the pick made no sense. One would think that the team would be approaching the first round of the draft with the mindset to get a player who would contribute right away. Another problem with "project" picks is that they need good people around them to help them develop, and a winning system. The Bills of the 90's were able to develop "project" picks on a regular basis because they already had a winning system and a core group of players who could help them develop. Hopefully the next front office will reverse the thinking: Draft in the first round with idea of immediate contribution, and draft in the late rounds with the idea of "project". Even so, the truth is that the first round of the draft is always a crap shoot. Because of the money involved, the expectations are so high that it's either boom or bust.

Doesn't look like it's going to happen since it looks like the colts won't be signing JP. I feel bad for the guy. I think his experiences in college behind his turnstyle O-line made it impossible for him to go to the next level. And of course at the next level he got to enjoy the fine protection of some of our O-linemen. No matter how tough a QB is, eventually he's going to get rattled after being planted time after time

Great point. If they go to 15 yards and a first down, you'll see a lot fewer of these.

I think the Bills mindset was to build the line through free agency, hence the signing of Walker and Dockery. Obviously it didn't work out, which set their plans back. The successful teams build both lines through the draft, then use free agency to solidify or plug holes. Above all else, there has to be a good program in place to build those lines, with a combination of good talent evaluation and coaching. Modrak and Guy have not made good choices with talent, and the coaching has been mediocre. We've seen the result.

Trading Peters might have been a mistake, but cutting Dockery and Walker didn't make any difference. Neither one of them is currently showing anything to indicate that the Bills made a mistake in cutting them.

He could be the second coming of Bruce, if he learns not to get suckered up the field on draws and screens. I watched most of the game tonight. He's definitely a superior athlete, but was taken advantage of a couple of times with his tendency to over persue. If he's prepared to study at the next level, he could become very Bruce-like. He's got great strength. I saw him just basically lift his opponent off their feet and shove him into the QB on a couple of occasions.

Thank you. When a team is signing street free agents who haven't played in over a year to start in less than a week, there are going to be "issues" with the run blocking and the pass protection. Particularly against blitzing. I can't recall another team that's had this many changes to their O-line during the course of a single year. Whomever they put at QB isn't going to make a difference, and whomever is hired as GM or coach won't make a difference either, unless they make stabilizing the O-Line a top priority.

Good point, but not after two games, one of them a loss. Let's see what happens after teams get some game film on Fitzpatrick. I'm not saying he's no good, but if he's going continue to improve he'll have to keep disguising his tendencies from game to game. The same goes for our O-Line.

Living here in Youngstown, OH, I can tell you that the backlash over the Browns' move was significant. Advertisers, for probably the first time in history, pulled their advertising from just about everything NFL related in this region. Didn't last long, but I think the negative press and bad PR was enought to make the NFL take notice.

The change has certainly put some new life into the team. I think Fitz is taking advantage of the fact that defenses don't really have a lot of film on him yet. That's where it gets hard for a new starting QB. They have to keep disguising their tendencies from game to game to keep being effective. But hey, what the heck, they beat the fish! I had season tickets back when the rivalry really meant something, so I'm happy. Glad to hear the crowd really got into it again.

Judging from that picture, I'd say more of a smirking, wanker-type punk