Zulu Cthulhu

You always bring so much to the debate. Keep going, i haven't accurately determined your level of stupid yet.

I pine for the "good ol days" on this board more and more every day.

I think most fans who pay attention did think and did believe a relapse/reinjury was very possible. I know i leaned that way. But just as you said, i also hoped he could beat out those long odds and make a legitimate comeback, if only for one season or so. As far as the good risk/bad risk argument goes, i suppose it depends on how you're defining the risk. Financially, the move was barely a risk at all, given the Bills cap situation and the remaining available talent pool at OLB when he was signed. But i do see the move as a bit of a risk from a player development standpoint, if you believe merriman's presence hindered the 2 young OLBs development by taking away reps, gametime, etc. BTW, PFT posted a story (citing Tim Graham) killing Nix for the signing in the past hour or so. The commenters at the end are worth a read.

Could just be an anomaly this year, or, as Mangini said yesterday, a result of the new practice rules put in place by the CBA. Either way, i don't think we should fear John Beck.

I think MDfan hit it on the head. It seems pretty clear now Merriman has been gimped by his achilles for a long time. I suppose he was worried about getting his corrective surgery in the past (before resigning) since he was dangerously close to never collecting another NFL paycheck. The rehab from that procedure probably would've scared teams away, even though he's still pretty young. Now, with another deal in his pocket, he can feel more comfortable getting this heel surgery and (hopefully) making a full recovery. The Bills will be patient with him, since they don't want to look stupid after giving him his extension. I give Merriman credit for trying to contribute this year, even though he probably knew he needed this sugery for a long time. I can only assume he felt obligated to Nix and wanted to try to help the team right away. I have to give him credit for that, and for helping lure Nick Barnett here. Merriman will probably have one more shot next year to prove his worth, I'll be rooting for him.

Right. Refusing to believe Tebow looks like a competent NFL QB is a symptom of our morally bankrupt society. Is that what you're suggesting? Exaggerate much? A statement like that is EXACTLY why no one is taking you seriously SouthGeorgia. You're a parody.

Here i am, eating just a bit of crow. The best part of tebow's performance today was given in his postgame interview, where he showed his maturity and admitted he played awful for most of that game. He led his team back, doing it his way scrambling around like a madman. Wasnt pretty, but he got the job done. We'll see where it goes from here when he's not playing horrible teams going forward.

Sooooo....who are the Bills supposed to get to replace him? In 24 hours?

Makes sense to try to move him now. Had his best year last year under mcdaniels, who's gone. His asking price is at its peak. Doesn't fit into their game under fox anymore, especially with tebow basically punting the ball all over the field. 3rd rounder, make it happen.

Those are eye opening stats and thanks for posting them. I don't know what went on in NY between Mason and Shotty but i'm inclined to take Mason's side. Still surprised he's hung around this long after being on the brink of retirement, but i hope he continues to produce in Houston.

+1 kelly. It must be exhausting explaining that all again, but thank you.

We'll see how the Jets handle this adversity over the next few weeks - they don't seem to be doing too well so far. That said, i don't blame Mason. He has been running on fumes for a couple years. I can't believe he's still playing after Balt coaxed him out of retirement seasons ago.

Trade for tebow and let him kick

Dude, what facts? Tebow people claim "all he does is win." that's not a fact, not in the pros. In fact, without bronco fans putting up stupid billboards and booing every single orton incompletion, a smart coach like john fox would have never been put in this situation. I already said your facts about this kid are duly noted - he SHREDDED the SEC in college. Great. I would just add he didn't do it by himself. He had Jesus and Urban Meyer recruited teams on his side as well. As far his pro career, i'll stick by my Fact that a guy completing 50% of his passes in the NFL isn't going to amount to much. Could he improve? Maybe. I hope he does. But every time i see him throw i'm reminded of a broken screen door, and it doesn't look like he's improved on that front at all. Looks like Cam Newton has a similar skill set to Tebow, but i don't see too many fanboys praising his season so far (except me). Oh, and Cam Newton can throw the ball too. Seems kind of important if you're playing quarterback. Nevermind, i forgot. Cam doesn't have Tebow's "intangibles."

I'm glad Kelly isn't being fair and balanced with you tebow fanboys, because there is really no talking to you guys at all. I've said it here before - the worst thing about Tim Tebow is his fans. You people are completely irrational and totally immune to any reasonable criticism of this guy. Tebow, even with his faults that many, many football observers have pointed out (not just ESPN southgeorgia) would get much more slack if his legions of fans would just gain a little bit of perspective. There are many things to like about the kid - you've pointed them all out already. There are also a few concerns that may limit him in the pro game, also already pointed out. It seems there's a contingent on this board (and probably every other team board in the NFL) that likes to start another tebow thread whenever he smells the field because....well i don't really know why. Perhaps you're still sore Buffalo didn't draft him. There is no middle ground with Tebow fans apparently, you're all just too in love with his image to even listen to any alternative opinions on the kid. Good for y'all i guess.

I can only assume some in the media are still confusing David with Shawn Nelson. Who can blame them? It's not like they get paid to write about football or anything...oh wait.

Haloti Ngata was fined $15,000 for his blind side helmet first hit on Sanchez that resulted in a fumble returned for a TD last week. The league cited roughing the passer by leading with the helmet as the reason for the fine. I brought up this hit last week as an example of the horrid inconsistency in officiating in the league today. I just wanted to highlight that call again since the no call obviously affected that game (at that point) and reiterate that a different crew, on a different day, might have thrown that flag. Someone responded to me last week that the Ngata hit was legal. Well, the NFL disagreed. That's fine, but that play is just another example that the NFL's rule enforcement is so bad that they're undermining the game at this point, which is exactly the opposite of why you have rules in sport in the first place.

Great analysis. Eagles are soft up the middle. As long as the bills can keep it from becoming a shootout, they should be able to run all over philly, control the pace, and win easily. Then again, if it does become a shootout, i still give the bills a 50/50 chance of winning.

On one hand i'd say fix the thread title and be more descriptive, but on the other hand after reading your link i had the exact same reaction. Good stuff. Maybin still sucks.

Sorry so-cal, but the above posters are right - the nfl is a passing dominant league now, buffalo is just following the trend (and is 3-1 and in 1st place in their division). Buffalo has had to come back from large deficits in the 2nd halves of 2 games. That means leaning on the passing game. Only 3 teams in the league run more than they pass by the way. Despite all that, buffalo still has a healthy run game with fred jackson. So stop whining.

I guess the OP could be right - the Bills may not be as good their record suggests. They caught some breaks in the OAK and NE games that may have helped them complete their comebacks and hold on. What I don't agree with is the notion that the so-called "legit contenders" somehow don't catch needed breaks themselves that contribute to their wins. All teams catch good and bad breaks regularly - that's just a symptom of the horribly inconsistent officiating in the NFL today. If you think your so-called contending teams are winning more "legitimately" or however you want to phrase it you're mistaken. And who are these contenders anyway supposedly winning so much more consistently than Buffalo? I'll give you Green Bay and New Orleans in the NFC look to be in top form and are probably going to run through people all year long. But what about in our conference? Well: NE - Buffalo beat them. Defense is worst in league. Even miami hung with them for a half before NE pulled away. BAL - laid one egg already. Defense still good; Flacco sputters at times. PITT - already looking like a very long season for Pitt. Wouldn't be too worried about them. NYJ - defense looks like it regressed. Sanchez is being exposed since they cant run the ball anymore. SD - still strong, Rivers doesn't look quite himself though. I'm not really all that frightened of those perennial AFC contenders this year. Everyone is beatable nowadays, with or without our "lucky breaks."

Ngata is a beast. But on his forced fumble he clearly led with his helmet, drilling sanchez directly in the back. No flag. Maybe i'm a bit sore still after the Johnson call and the "tuck rule" occurance earlier today, but the NFL has to some serious housecleaning with its officiating. Either overhaul the rule book and simplify things for the refs, or train your officials to be more friggin consistent. Replace the crew with a random other set of refs, and Ngata may have drew a flag for that hit, and no fumble, no TD for the Ravens. The hilarious fact is Ngata will probably be fined for that "illegal" hit that drew no flag and resulted in 7 for his team. Embarassing.

Exactly. But, at some point in the recent past, 9 out of 10 posters on this board collectively decided they must include hyperbole in every post they scratch out. It's getting annoying, honestly.

AJ Green has been OK. I wouldn't say he's been anywhere near "outstanding."

Look, if you are out there contemplating dropping $500+ on a season ticket at RWS, or even buying a single game seat, you should really ask around and do a bit of research beforehand if you are going to get bent out of shape about people standing in front of you. Football games aren't the most civilized events in many cases. I've been to countless games - not just Bills but plenty of college games and HS, too. People in front and behind you are going to stand no matter what. Some will stand longer than most and for no good reason, but thems the breaks. Want to know why they don't enforce the "no standing" policy? Because trying to do so is futile. You either save your money and dont go or suck it up, as i do. I don't feel the need or see the point in standing the entire game - i paid for my seat so I use it as often as possible. But those out there too infirm or too stubborn to stand when necessary to see and enjoy the game should stay home and watch it on TV. You'll get the best view from home anyways.