gobillsinytown

At some point, the Pats* are going to start falling off. Everything hinges around Brady and he's getting older. Whether it's this year or not, Brady's skills are going to start to deteriorate. Once that happens and they go a few years at 8-8 or 7-9 or 6-10, most of this will fade from memory. I hate Brady as much as the next Bills fan, but ultimately it comes down to beating them on the field. In the words of Bruce Smith: "Beat them down and don't let up. Keep pounding on the head of the nail until you can't see head of the nail anymore" Everything comes and goes in cycles, and I think we're going to see the beginning of the down cycle for them.

I think the key to a good pass defense is a good pass rush. Luck's an excellent QB, but he can't carve up the secondary if he's on his back most of the game. I listened to an interview with Luck on the radio today (Dan Patrick Show) and of course he didn't say anything, but Patrick mentioned that the Colts' biggest concern this season will be the O-line. A QB like Luck can overcome some of that, but eventually a bad O line is going to cost them.

Unfortunately, age has a way of catching up quickly at the RB position. The performance drop off from one year to the next can be pretty dramatic. Also, I think the new coaching staff wants to go younger. Everybody loves Freddy, including the coaching staff I'm sure. I'm sure it was a hard decision that nobody felt good about. But there is very little room for sentimentality in the NFL. Ultimately it's a business decision. Teams make these kinds of decisions all the time, we just don't notice it until it's our team. Was it the right decision? We'll find out this season.

I won't bash the guy, but I think that at this stage of his career, another new system isn't going to benefit him at all. He also needs an experienced offensive line and lots of time to throw, since he's a better downfield thrower than the short/intermediate ranges. He won't have that here and he's already had some serious injuries. He's a talented player, but needs a very specific set of circumstances to be successful. Plus, we don't have enough cap space to fit his existing contract.

In the old section J4 for the whole wonderful, spine-tingling, incredible thing. In our group, it was standing policy to never leave before the game was over, no matter how bad it got. This game tested that theory, especially after the pick six by the Oilers' LB. It's been analyzed to death, but I have never seen a defensive coordinator and his unit implode like that since, or an offensive coordinator fail so badly at adjusting to the changes an opposing offense was making. Combine that with future Hall Of Fame players just willing their team to win, and you get history.

I was at that game.......it was awful to see.

I just had to click on this thread.........I wasn't disappointed.

This whole thing always seemed a little strange to me. I'm still not sure why Marrone left. This thread has some pretty convincing points, both for and against Marrone, but there's something weird about it. Not that it's anything too unusual in the NFL.....this kind of stuff happens pretty frequently. Harbaugh leaving the 49ers comes to mind. These guys are all aggressive, confident, alpha males and I would think that personality conflicts are routine in NFL front offices.

Listening to Rome right now.....he's raking Marrone and it's hilarious.

I'll start watching it once the actual game begins. I would rather have 12 root canals than watch any of the pregame stuff, because it will be one steaming pile of Brady/Bellicheck hype after another. And we all know that they'll find a way to put Bruschi in it. Yesterday, I had to turn the TV off after they trotted out Bruschi to present the AFC title trophy. I couldn't believe it. Just after it seemed that he would go away forever, there's his face on my TV screen.

Rex is a great motivator and the players love him. He's excellent at getting the best out of the roster that he has. He's a defense oriented coach, which in my opinion is a good thing. I still believe that championship teams get there on a great defense. Seattle is a great example. So there are a lot of positives, but the elephant in the room is still the one thing that plagues all mediocre teams: They don't have their QB situation settled. The four remaining teams that are about to play in the conference championships all have one thing in common.....they don't have any questions at QB. Rex has done some pretty amazing things with mediocre talent at QB before (Sanchez), but it remains to be seen if he can turn EJ into a starter.

If Don Shula thinks they cheat, I guess it's true(?) "Speaking with Dave Hyde of the Sun-Sentinel about other great coaches, is asked about Belichick and doesn't hold back with his response. "Beli-cheat?" Shula says."

By way of comparison, the Cleveland area media are also perceived as "difficult" by the team. And we've seen how the coaches even on winning teams have a hard time dealing with the media in their home towns, ie: Bellicheck and the Boston media. I think the most effective coaches learn to tune it out. If the story about Marrone reacting to the media is true, then he's in for a rough time in NY if he takes the Jets job.

I think Marrone gets another year. IMO there's two ways of looking at him: 1. Marrone got a winning season out of a team with a QB who was sitting on the couch until two weeks into the season. 2. Marrone wasted an elite defense by missing on the EJ pick. Either way, it comes down to the QB issue. It appears that this coming draft class won't have a QB who is ready to step in as a rookie, and there definitely aren't any exciting free agent prospects. The problem has been, remains, and will be at QB.

I had the chance to meet Josh earlier this year while he was suspended. My impression is that he's a decent kid, but definitely likes to go his own way. I live about an hour away from Cleveland so I hear a lot of the news and chatter about the Browns. The knock on Josh is that while he's a hard worker, he's definitely a maverick and has problems with authority. So a change of scenery may not make any difference. Sometimes the right coach can work with guys like this....but is Marrone the right guy?

I may be a pathetic, bitter Bills fan, but beating this team even under meaningless circumstances is awesome. We all know Grumblelord doesn't like to lose, even in a game where he rested pretty much everybody. He'll be mumbling threatening things to the backups all week long. I'm also sure Brady will be yelling at the backup wideouts and at his anointed successor. Even if it's just a little extra stress for them, hopefully it will add up to yet another playoff or Superbowl loss. .....definitely going to be an interesting off season!

I don't get the impression that Mike Williams is a "system" kind of guy.

It's a sad situation for Darryl, and I hope he chooses to take the money that we raised for him, if not for himself then for his family. But as other posters have said, the team can't get involved. As we saw with the concussion lawsuit, some former players are going to see it as an opportunity to get some extra cash. It would be pretty depressing to see the kickoff specialist from 1996 claiming that he needed $100,000.

You would think that with the league being more passing oriented that the QBs coming out of college would be able to adapt to the pro game better. But so far, the ratio of QB draft hits to misses has remained about the same. The only difference that I see at this point is in the amount of hype surrounding them. It would definitely be interesting to look at the list of QBs drafted in, say, the last four years and see how many are still playing.

The future definitely looks bright as far as the off-field developments are concerned. Pegula seems genuinely committed to the area and the plans for the off-field side of the team are pretty exciting. On the field, I think the team is one quality player away from being a playoff contender. But the player in question is also the hardest position to fill, and that's at quarterback. With rare exceptions, the best teams in the league are set at quarterback. Unfortunately the Bills are not. EJ seems to be a bust at this point and Orton was sitting on the couch. I guess I can respect the coaching staff for going all in with their convictions about EJ, but they were wrong. The last time the Bills were relevant is when they were set at quarterback. Since then they have been inconsistent at best. I think that the quarterback position, especially in this era, is the one thing that a team has to nail down. It's sad that the Bills haven't done that, but I expect that if the team continues to lose, there will be a lot of changes at the end of the year. Pegula may be a "hands-off" kind of guy, but he just spent an estimated billion dollars. I don't think he's going to have a lot patience.

So, which demon lord do we all think Brady and Bellicheck signed the pact in blood with? Personally, I think it was Baphomet. It also could have been Baal, but I hear Baphomet likes making soul deals with sports figures.

Yes, winning is terrible.

Call me out for being too much of an optimist, but I think that this might have a positive side. At Freddys age, missing a few games could actually help with the wear and tear on his body, so that he's fresher towards the end of the season. Not that a groin injury is great for a running back, but with his discipline and focus, he's a good candidate to come back early. The key will be the rehab.

Yes, I hate wins myself. They could forfeit the win, and I think they should. Winning is too easy to do in the NFL to take bad wins this this one.

Trump is an interesting guy. it's almost like he's a caricature of himself at this point. I'm not sure what his strategy is. Usually these guys are pretty calculated in what they say, because it helps them make money. But with all the stuff this guy spouts, it seems like he just loves the sound of his own voice. Bizarre.