BobChalmers

I'm kind of leaning that way too.

Chan is not hitched to Fitz. Fitz was what Chan was handed - he's going to get a chance to have his own guy starting next season. Hopefully they get somebody worth drafting in what looks like an iffy QB class.

Haha - sorry - wrote that too early and too angry - Nick Barnett of course! My point is more about when they are in any passing situation, Sheppard (and I guess it's Bradham these days) comes out. Barnett and Scott are playing all the passing downs - that's all I was getting at. Barnett in there looks like it makes us weak against the run and the pass. No my issue is that Barnett can't cover a WR even for a couple of seconds, nor can he cover a TE or RB, nor can he take on a block on a running down. I am sure this will be addressed next year - it's just a pity the whole defense is being faulted with what looks like more of just a glaring weakness in one unit. I thought he played well enough last year, but keep in mind the Packers let him go w/o an offer, right? I think they could tell he was close to hitting the wall. He gets stats this year, but an awful lot of his tackles seem like they are on the guy he is assigned to in pass coverage - not exactly a positive stat. Seriously - go back and look at that second Pats* TD drive - it's incredible - EVERY play is at Barnett.

Barnett is washed up and as bad as any of the other LB's. Go back and watch the Pats* 2nd TD drive. Brady targeted Barnett on every single play. EVERY ONE. On the long scoring run, they ran directly at Barnett, and he couldn't disengage AT ALL from his block, which was the main reason for the long run. If Barnett is the best of a sorry bunch of LB's, so be it, but don't pretend for a minute he doesn't also completely suck. Scott is the only one that does his job - and he's an undersized nickel LB - who unlike Barnett by the way, CAN cover someone for a second or two. Barnett is bad against both the run and pass. The fact that Sheppard can't take any playing time from him just proves Sheppard is now officially a bust. The Bills need to draft 5 LB's next year in the hopes of find 2 who belong in the NFL.

If you have a way - go back and watch the 2nd Pats* TD drive when they went up 17-3 on a Ridley run. Nick Barnett was targeted EVERY SINGLE PLAY. If the Pats* came out and admitted that "find Barnett" was Brady's read on that drive, I would not be surprised. He was attempting (and failing) to cover different receivers each time, and he was lined up at the point of attack on the long scoring run play - where he completely failed to disengage from his block. They may have been in zone on the passes, but wherever he was, Brady went after him every time. Compare the Bills' LB corps to any we have seen this year - is there one even close to as bad? as unathletic as what the Bills put out there? . Barnett is clearly washed-up and if Sheppard can't get any of his playing time, then I think it's fair to call him a bust. I know we all wish we had better than Fitz at QB, but these LB's are so painful to watch that if they had to make a choice, I'd rather they focused on that in the draft. Seriously, they need to draft 5 of them next year just to make sure they find at least a couple who can actually play in the NFL.

I kind of agree but there are often guys who will surprise. We'll know a lot more about how good some of these guys really are when they play in the big conference playoffs and bowl games too. There are always guys who pop up on the draft boards after the end of the season. In a way this may work well for the Bills, because as bad as Fitz has been, they need LB help as much or more. Let's see where they finish - I still think they are going to get on a bit of a roll before this is over - but I'd be OK with taking a stud MLB in the first and then grabbing OBD's favortite QB available in the 2nd.

When they are in this state - playing poorly and unlikely to win - which is often this last decade or so: I watch almost every play to make sure I understand what is and isn't wrong with thiem. No amount of post-game coverage on TV or in the net/press, will leave you able to sort through all the nonsense you will read here and elsewhere about what is and isn't wrong with them. A good alternative is to DVR it if that's an option - makes it much easier to watch dispassionately when you know how it ends.

Noone since Elway is the same kind of prospect as Luck. Not even Payton Manning. There were (some) questions about even Payton. There were NO questions about Luck.

Were you also one of the people who essentially called Nix a liar last year when he said he was going to be aggressive in FA and improve the passrushing talent? Mario may not have been all we dreamed of, and Anderson's missed a lot of time, but Nix did EXACTLY what he said he would. I think it's just silly to have some attitude that they will not, in fact, draft a QB very high - 1st if the guy is there, 2nd if they think that's the play and there is an amazing LB at their spot. I really thought the Bills would grab him in the 4th and was bummed (and kind of shocked) when the Redskins did.

He's just saying he doesn't try to decide how good they are overall as a team, or what players really just aren't as talented as they thought, etc. until they get 3/4 through the year. I don't have a problem with that. There's damned little to do about personnel anyway mid-season in the NFL, so why bother trying to focus on what you can't do? IWe get to do that as fans, but we're not on the hook to motivate a team of actual human beings. For example, as a fan, I think they need to replace most of their LB's - but they can't do anything about that now, so what's the point in them not still trying to coach up guys like Sheppard and see if he has a breakthrough during the season? He has that responsibilty - we don't. t's not like it's a universal rule - they made a call on Moorman early this year, and on Trent Edwards their first season, but at this point, theiy are out of most options. Dalton is no big deal. Without Green to heave up air-balls to he would be trash, and that team is carried by their defense. Seattle has one of the best defenses in the league, and 32 teams passed on Wilson twice. Do i wish they grabbed him in the 3rd, sure, but that's pure hindsight - were you screaming at the TV to grab him? Tannehill's team ALSO is led by the defense, and Miami has his colege coach on their staff, which has a lot to do with how they had him evaluated higher than other NFL teams. Yeah - Nix had damned well better draft at least one QB this year starting with the first or second round (I'lll let them pick up "the next Patrick Willis" if they think he's there in the first). The argument you are nmaiking is a really strong one to get Wanny out of the booth and back in the sideline where he belongs - here's hoping they try that.

Same here - I don't even think I'd give up a whole bunch for Smith - and they REALLY need LB's - plural.

Jackson would have to be positively horrific to be worse than Young looked in training camp/preseason.

Heard it from countless analysts and seen it in examples from other teams - the local Ravens included.

And as Kyle Williams made clear this week, THE PLAYERS AREN'T GOING WHERE THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO. Unless that means to you that Wanny is a bad teacher, it's really not on him. They are learning a new scheme - this almost always takes a full year to fully adapt. Meanwhile, the DL people are whining about is helping the team to be on pace to more than double the team sack total for last year. People complain that Wanny isn't blitzing enough? Please see above - they ARE getting a pass rush w/o blitzing. 12th in the league in sacks - you can look up hurries and tell me the sacks are an aberration if you want.

Which is why Redskins fans are totally cheery and upbeat today after their loss yesterday. Even after RG3 threw a 4th quarter interception, they're so happy about the big plays he makes, they don't care. The Bills need to go all out to find that guy next April - (along with getting not one but two guys who have the talent to play NFL LB.) And all three of those teams had serious studs at the LB position(s).

LB's - ours stunk last year, and the only changes are that Barnett is 1 year older and plays like he's 5 years older, plus we added a 4th round rookie OLB Bradham. Sheppard is looking like a huge bust. QB - no one on this roster is even potential franchise material. Fitz was adequate yesterday, but he's already cost the team 3 games, and nearly cost them the game last week in AZ. It's too soon to evaulate Wanny - sorry. 7 games into a new system with terrible talent at LB. It's not what the angry mob wants to hear but it's true. Think the defense hasn't improved and signing Mario and Anderson was no help? Here's a stat for you, the Bills are currently tied with the Giants for 12th in the league with 17 sacks. Last SEASON they had 19 sacks TOTAL. After the next two games, the schedule gets easier, so with 9 games left, does anyone want to bet against me that they will more than double their sack total from last season?? Some things really have improved from last season. QB's do not stand around forever picking apart their D the way they used to. They still run against the Bills (though note how the Bills stuffed KC the week before they ran wild against NO), and they are picking apart the short zones. Why? BECAUSE THE BILLS LBs SUCK. They are physically outmatched and overall slow, so they can't cover and they can't run down the edges. Big running plays aren't the D-Line's fault - they are the LB's fault. The D-Line often gets stuffs on the run, but they can't do it every play, and the LB's have to step up on the other plays. The good news is, it's ONLY the LB's that suck (on defense). Ripping Chan for getting as many points on offense as he does with so little premier talent is ridiculous. He has choked some tough calls late the last two weeks - painful... BUT I'll take a coach who can turn a 7th rounder throwing to another 7th rounder into one of the most effective passing combos in the league any day.

Depending on how you define "franchise". A top half of the league sort of QB who can threaten a deep pass would be good enough for my definition. "pro bowl" LB's? Not necessarily - it would be nice to have one at that level if you fancy yourself a top defense, but for now I'd settle for at least one drafted in the first two rounds. It's not like only one LB is selected to the Pro Bowl every year - more like 8 from each conference right? Sheppard is starting to look like a third-round bust - there's just no indication he can play on passing downs, and isn't special against the run either. Barnett has clearly hit a wall. Bradham might amount to something - too early to say. The bottom line to my point is I think they are only one more draft away, and since you couldn't say that last year, I am pretty pleased with the progress, even if the current production still frustrates. Last spring we needed a WR, an OLT, any semblence of a pass rush, LB's, the CB's weren't great, and we weren't at all sure we didn't need a QB too. Now we need a QB and a couple of LB's. Gilmore and Glenn look great, and for what little action our QB is able to get him, Graham looks fine. Is Mario dominant? Has Anderson been healthy? No - but if you complain about the pass rush this season, please go back and take a look at the Bills pash rush last season. There is no comparison whatsoever - it may be disappointing now, but it was flat-out embarrassing how long QB's had to throw last year. Now opposing offenses attack the short zones and run at the edges because our LB's are too slow so they can't cover and they can't make a play in open space, but they definitely do not sit back all day disrespecting the passrush.

THANK YOU. FItz is a limitation, but he's not the biggest problem, he's not the worst thing from yesterday, and Gailey IS calling plays around his limitations. Yes, they need to replace him next year - and if Travaris looks like he can step in, fine, we can replace one journeyman mediocre/poor QB with another. The "answer" at QB is hopefully coming in next year's draft - it's not happening this season so forget Fitz and the offense for now - the Bills and their fans are stuck with mediocrity or worse at the game's most important position for this year. The defense is horrific - mostly because we still have the worst LB's in the league, just as we did last season and haven't added anyone but a rookie 4th rounder. I trust Kyle Williams on this - I highly reccommend his postgame comments. Kyle Wiliams made it pretty clear that you can't blame the scheme (IE the Defensive Coordinator) because they easily see on film every week that they aren't executing the defensive calls the way they are supposed to. In his frustration, he stopped just short of calling out some of his teammates, but I got the sense it wasn't generally Kyle who was blowing his assignments. Generally, when opposing teams gash you for LONG runs, it's the LB's who aren't doing what they are supposed to, and given that they also look physically overmatched on a regular basis, I thnk the entirety of the problem is pretty clear. It may also be - as I feared at the start of the season - that some of the players from last year are still having trouble learning the new scheme - this is not uncommon at all - it's a known and constantly repeated fact in the NFL that teams don't get good at a defensive scheme until their second season with it. It sucks for us to watch, but it is the truth. I honestly believe the team has improved their talent and they are 1 QB and 2 LB's away from being seriously good. Hopefully Nix can get that done next year.

Actually, TENN really hasn't done much in a long while without the Fitz-sack-fumble, right?

actually - TENN hasn't done too much this half w/o the fumble, right?

Seriously he was roasted in the first half

I love when other teams can run on us all day but get stupid and pass anyway

agreed

Bills sure don't need him with their 1st - and he will go early. He's no LB and I don't think he can throw a pass.

He is absolutely a DE. 6-5 260 if I remember right and a very speedy and relentless pass-rusher.