Dr. K

I said to myself before this game that it woudl be a good teast for the young Bills team, playing a team that, despite it's poor record, everybody would say has better personnel than the Bills, and playing the game on that team's home field.

I always thought those who wanted them to lose in order to get a high draft choice were crazy. And anyone who did not enjoy ever second of that comeback is dead.

I think the fixation on Andrew Luck is weird and unhealthy. Too many "can't miss" #1 choice are busts, and too many Hall of Fame choices come from later in the first round, to say nothing of later rounds. Yes, Elway was a #1 draft choice. But Dan Marino and Jim Kelly were later in that first round. Tony Eason was also in the first round. It's a crap shoot. Would you rather have Eli Manning, or Philip Rivers or Ben Rothliesberger from that year's draft? Manning was the top pick that everybody sought, but I'd take Rivers over either of the others, and he only climbed the draft boards after the Senior Bowl. J.P. Losman was also in that same first round. Like I said, it's a crap shoot.

Sorry, I frequently think "Andre Reed" when I mean Evans because they wear the same number. Not that Evans is as good as Reed was.

I watched the Detroit game again on game rewind, and it hit me, in connection with the Baltimore, KC, and Bears games, that barring a rash of further injuries, the Bills could be on the verge of a breakout in the second half of the season. Three things make me think this: 1) Despite his misfires, the team is getting good QB play from Fitzpatrick. His decisiveness and knowledge of the offense, ability to make quick throws and stand up to pressure, make this offense much better than it would be under another QB. The reason the receivers and the o-line are looking so much better is a combination of the game plans, the play calling, and Fitz's not-perfect-but-pretty-damn-good ability to execute it. [incidental note: I noticed that one of the "flyer" throws he made, when the ball got away from him and he overthrew Reed on what would have been a touchdown in the first quarter, happened on the very next play after (as we learned after the game) his throwing hand got stepped on by a Detroit D-lineman. ] 2) They were just a couple of plays from scoring at least 30 points in this game. The failed fourth-and-one in the first quarter on the Detroit eleven, the missed Lindell FG, a couple of just-barely overthrows on deep balls, the recalled punt return for TD. We're talking an additional 13-20 points. Now I realize that a lot of games would turn around if only a couple of plays went differently, but it seems to me this team is close to turning these plays around. I expect Fitz to hit more of those throws, Jackson to make more of those short yardage situations, Lindell to make most of those field goals. 3) The defense, though still making tons of mistakes, is looking much better than it did in the first 5 or 6 games. They have a ridiculously low number of turnovers this season, given how many they caused last. The big problem is the lack of a pass rush, but I think some of the blitz variations are getting them closer (though they still could use some better players in the front seven). I think the players are understanding their assignments better. Even with the pathetic pass rush, they ought to have intercepted more balls than they have so far, and this is another area where, once they start coming up with some (as they might have on that play late in the first half where three Bills had a shot at a sure interception but they all collided and the ball was dropped) they will get more. Even an average number of turnovers will put the offense in better scoring position, and this offense is enough better that I think they will take advantage of it. Maybe this is naive, but I think the Bills are going to have a breakout game sometime soon, and that once they realize they can do these things, the effect could snowball. I don't know which of these games coming up is going to be the one, but I fully expect the avalanche to happen. I hope that it's not a one-time thing, but the foundation of the better team these Bills will become.

BillsVet is of course entitled to his opinion, but I think it is purblind. If you watch the games you cna see that there is much more life in the offense, with the potential for even more. But a couple of things should be taken into account when looking at the state. 1) as has been said, the Bills are scoring 21 points per game since Trent was benched. Maybe Gailey should have figured he couldn't play sooner, but I give him high marks for getting it by game two of the season, and for acting decisively. From 8.5 points per game they have gone to 21 points per game, 5 more that what BillsVet said they were scoring last year. 2) Last year the defense generated a large number of turnovers. Even when they did not score directly, they shortened the field many times. This year the defense is among the lowest getting turnovers in the league. If they start getting any more turnovers at all, the offense we have now will be scoring much more often.

Thanks for that update. Now go away.

You are absolutely right. "Bandwagon haters." I wish I had thought of that. It's made this place poisonous to read. I can understand being disappointed; I can even understand being disgusted and giving up on the team. But to come back day after day posting reflexively negative snarls, and dump on anyone who says anything even slightly positive about the team, is almost pathological. It's like a bad marriage where the husband perpetually says nasty and cynical things about his wife in public, but never gets the nerve to get a divorce. Maybe she's no prize and he has reason to be unhappy, but after a while you just want the guy to shut up or go away.

Bills & Sabres, natch. But for my sins since I lived there in the 1970s & early 80s I have been believe it or not a Kansas City Royals fan. They were a good team back then but they have been the worst team in baseball over the last 15 years, with no hope in sight.

I feel the same way. Despite the record, I have more hope for this team than I have had in years. I think the thing is going to turn around.

I was completely immune to the "big name" lust (I still am). I thought hiring Fewell would have been okay, though I am no expert on such things. Not true. I would have considered it a reasonable choice, though the board would have been inundated by screaming fanatics. But when in the last five years has it not been inundated by screaming fanatics?

I'm not saying that some QB's aren't better than others, or that there is no such thing as great quarterbacking. But please define "elite-level play" in real terms, not hand waving.

People throw around the term "franchise quarterback" as if it were self-evident what that means. Aside from pointing at Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, I get the feeling to a lot of people here it means "Superman in cleats." We're going out and drafting a FQ, and then we will never lose a game. A franchise quarterback never throws a crucial interception. If you get him the ball on the one yard line with thirty seconds left in the game and no time-outs, he will be guaranteed to drive for the winning TD. He will turn around the franchise all by himself, and win all the games we are now losing. This is one of the signs of how far the Bills have fallen, that there's all this magic thinking. The number of fans on this board who think Andrew Luck is God (a lot of whom thought Jake Locker was God before the season started)is scary.

This is idiotic. Stick to the running game? If the Bills had stuck to the running game they would have been three and out on most of their drives. The Bears were stuffing every run at or behind the line of scrimage. Those people who continually insist the team keep handing it off no matter what the circumstances of the game are beyond help.

Nine

This is what impressed me the most watching the replay of the game on Game Rewind--how quickly he made decisions, how he knew just where to throw the ball, and how often he beat the blitz. He did make the o-line look good (and I suspect Trent Edwards made them look worse than they are, even though I hoped he had improved at the season's start). He really RAN that offense, and got everybody on the same page. He's not the tallest or most physically talented QB, but in this last stretch of games he has shown a real head for the game, which counts for more than being 6'5" or having a big arm. I would think, as someone said above, this should begin to pay dividends as defenses discover they can't stack the box or blitz on every play and get away with it. Now if only the D could hold somebody under 20 points (though the Ravens did score 17 points after turnovers--the TDs before and after halftime, and the field goal in OT--so maybe even the D has some hope).

+1 I posted in some thread after the last game when somebody was saying Fitzpatrick was at best a backup that, if he kept playing like this, why not make him the permanent QB? I was not on that impressed with him last season, but I was wrong. The amount of faith some people put in the hypothetical first-round QB they want to draft amazes me--let's see how far Fitz can go in this direction before deciding we need to use a first round pick on a QB. I can't see how, if the offense keeps playing this way, the Bills will have the first pick anyway. I expect them to win some games in the second half of the season. And yes, that's a good thing.

Why not?

We've already got Trent Dilfer playing for us. His name is Ryan Fitzpatrick. Or maybe he's Rich Gannon. Or Brad Johnson. You get what I'm saying?

Yeah, you're a big, impressive guy. A real man's man. Really smart, too.

In what way is this a "trick"? It's simple civility.

Tomlinson is not Pennington. I think calling players derogatory names is imbecilic. I'd like to see you call Whitner "lil' Donte" to his face.

Your regard for Todd Collins is inexplicable. What has Collins ever done in his ENTIRE CAREER (aside for one four-game stretch with the Redskins) to justify your saying he is/was a Kelly-level talent? i saw all the games he played when he was with the Bills, and he was in no way shape or form a potential franchise quarterback. If he were, he would have shown it by now. I don't know about the Lynch trade--you may be right that he will star for years in the league. I don't agree with you that he's teh best player on the team. But that's a different story.

What first rate person would come to work for the Bills?

Yes. The worst team in the league. I have not seen such bad defense for three consecutive games in I don't know how long. There is no talent on this team. I don't know what Gailey is going to do for the next twelve games. Shuffle the players around, change the schemes, try freakish systems. Seems hopeless to me. It's like a science experiment with no expectation of a good result. A game of solitare with only 46 cards. No winning is possible.