truth on hold

Patriots Jets (1 & 5) Bears (3 & 3) Broncos (4 & 1) @ Colts (4 & 2) Lions (4 & 2) @ Packers (4 & 2) @ Chargers (5 & 1) Dolphins (2 & 3) @ Jets (1 & 5) Bills (3 & 3) Combined: 31 & 27 Bills Vikings (2 & 4) @ Jets (1 & 5) Chiefs (2 & 3) @ Dolphins (2 & 3) Jets (1 & 5) Browns (3 & 2) @ Broncos (4 & 1) Packers (4 & 2) @ Raiders (0 & 5) @ Patriots (4 & 2) Combined: 23 & 32 IMO if we do our job and win the games we should, they are very catchable. After Jets they have a tough stretch of 6 games against teams that every one has a decent to good chance of beating them (that we are 2 & 1 against): Bears Broncos @ Colts Lions @ Packers @ Chargers Then they get Dolphins @ home, who always seem like a tough matchup for them, finishing with Jets away and Bills @ home. I am thinking that week 17 matchup can be a winner-takes-the division proposition. I'd expect a much better outing from Bills this time after learning a lot from last week's game film, including Sammy can get separation on Revis, and we need some well-timed exotic blitz packages on Brady.

Jets split with pats last year, so did fins. Pats only swept us. Rex has had good success against bellichik over the years and his players will be fighting hard for him. Factor in that and the pats injuries and I smell an upset here. Key stat from Sunday: all of Bills 22 points came after Mayo went out.

basically we have detroit's defense. Strong front-7, but a secondary thats vulnerable. And overall a defense that can have lapses late and give up leads - Texans at end of first half hit a big one that kept them in it, and if Robey doesn't take the right angle on golden showers, we lose to detroit on something like an 80-yard TD

Only time I can remember a bad call go against them that effected the outcome of the game was a home loss against cardinals. And it was during the replacement ref period. I remember everyone joking how they were so bad they didnt even realize they were supposed to favor the pats!

Thanks for posting this. I focused on this matchup right from the start more than anything. But all one can see on TV is about 5 yards from line (unless they highlight). From that I thoughy sammy was getting separation. He has the perfect combination of size (not too big, not too small), upper body strength, and speed to matchup on Revis. But the problem was Orton would lock on the other side of the field and never look Watkins way. You can bet if the tables were turned pats would have thrown at Sammy right from the go to disrupt the plan and force the defense to give him more attention, deal a morale blow, and create more room for other wideouts. Watching the tape they'll figure this out and I expect better results next time. The narrative that Revis "shut down sammy" was nonsens . The bills and Orton did

Only if NE lost under the same circumstance would be hear how the officiating was a key factor

you left out the entire context and all the supporting data and arguments, no surprise given your fanatical pro-ref agenda ... people can read it here and decide http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/172023-so-lets-pretend-the-nfl-referreing-isnt-fixed-fire-blandino-now/page__st__40

ACL in college too ... "In 2010, he spent the entire season rehabilitating from a knee injury that he suffered in the spring. " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiko_Alonso

Idk london Fletcher had a long career as a run stuffer. The guys who excel there just have different body types.

Our run defense is the bees knees .... #1 overall @67.5/game. Let's not mess with it. Extend spikes

Extending spikes and hughes during the year could make sense for everyone. They get more money now and take injury risk off the table, we get a discount to having them hit the open market next year.

With our QB situation and no 1st round pick next year, odds are higher we pay up for a FA QB .... just wondering who becomes available.

yeap, theres a short list of teams that refs seem to favor, and a short list they disfavor -- unfortunately we're in the latter group. The calls on Watkins and Woods that killed our momentum can be called on every play. So could the call on the Rams TE. So why arent they? Why are they saved for critical moments? All penalties are not created equal. football is a game of momentum and adrenaline. And as I posted in a different thread, no I dont think its pure coincidence the division w/ highest concentration of big market teams (NFC East), has the most super bowl appearances and wins

i didn't, but there are concerns. As you saw, my view is the only way to salvage that draft is for him to come back strong.

The sentiment had been euphoric regarding this draft. But the way it's unfolding not looking so great: RD1: EJ Manuel - benched, may never start again RD2: Robert Woods - good WR, but ceiling is a solid #2 RD2: Kiko Alonso - great rookie year, IR this year with his 2nd ACL. Given his history of knee injuries, how much will he be healthy and on the field? (aka Robert Griffin) RD3: Marquise Goodwin - provides a little spark now and then but gets injured easily due to small size. All things considered, not much production out of a 3rd round pick RD4: Duke Williams - horrific on Sunday against Pats, he won't last without dramatic improvement RD5: Jonathon Meeks - didn't see much time last year, IR'd for 2014 RD6: Dustin Hopkins - cut RD7: Chris Gragg - Has some potential but unlikely anything more than buried in the depth chart Summary So at the moment what we got out of this was a solid #2 WR in Woods, a guy who occasionally catches a deep ball in Goodwin (too small and fragile to run shorter routes over the middle), and some depth at TE. The guys in the secondary I am writing off. If it stays that way it's a poor draft. My view is that EJ is most likely not going to start for any length of time again, which means the only way to salvage this draft into something borderline respectable is for Kiko to come back strong and stay healthy for a number of years.

Well he's right about the sabres sucking and NFL games getting boring with too many flags

No idea what you're trying to say on one hand officials went on strike to get more of the pot, on the other hand they don't care about the size. Of course they're bargaining position for pay increases is dependent on what's available. And you tried to make the case nfce teams were lacking more recent super bowl apperances because Dallas hadnt been there in 18 years. Yet a sample for last 10 years again revealed nfce over representation

Exactly, the officials are paying close attention to the pot. In the past 10 years nfc east was in super bowl 30% of the time ... again a disproptionate amount. I think for the most part the super bowl is evenly officiated, which makes sense because at that point the audience is locked in.

You think fielding a guy in a cast would have made a difference?

So you think its a coincidence the NFC east division with the highest concentration of big market teams leads the league in super bowl appearances and wins?

No its more subtle than that. I think bad calls that go against favored teams and matchups receive greater scrutiny. And everyone knows that big markets and marquee matchups generate more money for everybody, the officials know their compensation comes from the same pot. Even a casual media observer would know which teams and players are favored.

i think theres an element of favoring big market teams and the most commercially profitable post-season match-ups like brady-manning

it's unfortunate but football is a war of attrition. Right now we're ahead. boston.com article made the point they'll really be missing Spikes now

they went right after Chandler's ankles a number of times too

while I was starting this thread, the title of the other changed to include Mayo anyway, loss of Mayo deserve its own thread (lot more important to them than Ridley). Good article from Boston.com on his significance: Mayo’s loss in 2013, coupled by season-ending ailments to Wilfork and eventually Tommy Kelly, resulted in a putrid defensive performance. In the Pats’ first five games last year, the club allowed 14 points per game. Over the following 13 games – including two in the postseason – that number skyrocketed to 24.3. The opposition’s red zone efficiency jumped from 35.7 percent to 57.8. In the end, New England finished 26th in the NFL in yards allowed per game (373.1) and 10th in points-against (21.1) during the regular season. Looking back one year, this is the point where everything fell apart. http://www.boston.co...ng_patriots.htm