Rubes

Always love seeing a Bills win. Thanks for the recap, Bill. For the life of me, I can't figure out why this defense can't seem to stop the run. Another no-name RB tops 100 yards, and the yards are there in big chunks. With all the talent on that side of the ball, why can't anyone figure this thing out?

From Fan Friday... In response to this question... ...came this answer: Now, I know we don't put a whole lot of stock into what CB has to say, but these are some fairly strong words coming from him. It really sounds like we'll be seeing some folks get cut this offseason we might not expect. Stevie certainly comes to mind, but it does make me wonder who else. Oh, and also this point: Kind of interesting given all the goings-on in the Rogers thread.

Great job, Ken. I enjoyed reading that, but yeah, there's a lot of tough realizations in there. My parents knew a number of the Bills players from back then, but I don't know how much they knew about the hardships that so many of them went though.

Cool, nice find. But let's be honest about a couple of points Sully made back then: Sully doesn't exactly sing SJ's praises. When he does talk about his value, it's in the context of Chan Gailey's offense. Perhaps the point he's trying to make now is that, with Chan gone, his value has gone down tremendously. And another one: Again, not exactly singing his praises, and when he does talk about his value and ability, it has to do with the chemistry between him and Fitz. Who, like Chan, is no longer here. Point being, perhaps the things that made SJ so valuable in the first place (Chan and Fitz) are now gone, reducing his value to the point where he is no longer an important asset, and thus the reason for Sully's change of mind. Of course, it certainly would have been better to point this out rather than to say he was against the re-signing of SJ. But I'm not sure I would call it a complete 180.

Hehe, that is awesome indeed.

Please, stop. You're killng me.

There, fixed it for you.

But you could tell...YOU COULD TELL

So do we now think Marrone would still be sitting at 4-9 if he was hired by the Bears and inherited Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffrey, and Matt Forte rather than EJ Manuel, Stevie Johnson, Robert Woods, and CJ Spiller?

998 posts. So close.

Good point, that would eliminate all of the entertainment.

Now that is just some classic stuff right there! :lol:

In all fairness, it does seem like Sully has been making a concerted (perhaps too concerted) effort to try and be more positive this season, instead of the usual crabby jackass. To knock him now for reverting back to form isn't completely fair, given that most of us felt sick watching that "performance" on Sunday.

I think there should be a requirement of at least 1,000 posts under your belt before you're allowed to respond to a 4mer thread.

Have to agree with this. I can't recall a season where there have been so many ridiculously bad calls -- either terrible calls, or no-calls. I know there's probably some recall bias here, but I just seem to be flabbergasted week after week, and I can't remember it happening this frequently.

Given your good instincts, and given that we could really use another playmaking OLB on this defense, who do you see as an option for us in round 1 or 2 next year?

I like the topic, Bill, and the question of why the Bills are only 4-8 with this level of talent is one that I've thought a lot about this year. In addressing that question, I find it fascinating that so many people are pointing to the offense. I think the defense is as much, if not more, to blame for this. See today's BN article about the Bills inability to stop the run as Exhibit A. Sure, the offense is partly to blame as well, certainly with the need to play street free agents at QB for a handful of games. But overall, as I mentioned in some other post in some other thread, winning consistently comes down to four things: talent, preparation, discipline, and execution. I think we're getting there on the talent front. I think the preparation, discipline, and execution have been good at times and lacking at times. My personal opinion is that much of that inconsistency is due to the extreme youth of this team and the fact that we're implementing new systems on both offense and defense. There are good signs that both systems can be very successful, and that is what gives me hope for next season, assuming we can keep most of the pieces in place and add a few key ones in the offseason.

Games are close every week. Often they come down to a play or two going one way or the other. We're 4-8 because we have the players and coaches that do whatever it is they do to blow those close chances more often than they succeed at them. It's not necessarily just the flip of a coin. Talent, discipline, preparation, execution...all of those things influence what happens at those key moments of the close games. For instance, you could say it was bad luck that EJ got injured against the Browns. But it wasn't. Or it was bad luck that we couldn't punch it in from the 1 against the Chiefs. But it wasn't. Or it was bad luck that Tuel didn't see SJ open in the end zone. But it wasn't. Or it was bad luck that the defender just happened to punch the ball in the exact perfect spot at the exact perfect time to make SJ/Chandler fumble. But it wasn't. Talent, discipline, preparation, execution. Some teams do it better than others.

So even though his performance is on par with his best yet, and is statistically better than half the starting TEs in the league, we're not satisfied because he should be doing better? Not that I'm totally arguing that -- I do think a ruthless review of the roster needs to identify guys who are just "good". I'm just not sure I would qualify his year as "sub-par".

When people say, "having a subpar year", what exactly are you referring to? He is on pace for career highs in catches and yards. He is currently 15th best in the league among TEs for catches and yards. He is actually on pace to finish with the second-most receiving yards by a tight end in franchise single-season history, second only to the legendary Paul Costa in 1967. That's more than Metzelaars, more than McKellar. This is all after coming back incredibly fast from a bad knee injury at the end of last season. He has one fumble on the season. Yes, it was a big one. Yes, his TD numbers are down from previous years. No, he is not an elite talent, and yes, I'd like to see someone more dominating at the position. But I'm still trying to understand how this all equates to a sub-par year.

I don't recall, which playoff games did not sell out?

No, but I would assume that they're more willing to take a hit on their budget when there is hope than when there isn't.

I doubt it has anything to do with the passion of the fans. Bills fans are as passionate, or more, than anyone. It likely has more to do with availability of disposable income. Plenty of folks in Chicago willing and able to plunk down the $$$ for Cubs tickets no matter how bad they are. Not quite the same in Buffalo.

Or at least a reach around. Oh come on, someone had to say it.