BobChalmers

It's happened for me with three teams: Orioles in 70's-80's. FSU Seminoles Football since '81 when I started school there. They choked a few potential titles away (had their own wide-right moment against Miami) but finally got it done. Maryland Terrapins Basketball only - grew up in Maryland and was a fan of their hoops as a high-schooler and since. Finally got past Duke and UNC to win it all a few years back. Unfortunately none of them is as near and dear to me as the Bills - not giving up though - maybe because of my FSU and Maryland experiences I am more comfortable being patient and knowing the Bills' time will come too.

...again - except in the LB corps, where the Bills have not very high draft picks - Sheppard as a 3rd is a part-time player. Bradham is a rookie 4th. Barnett was a modest-price FA - they paid a lot less for him than Poz went for. Compare with the secondary where the Bills have a first and two 2nds (Byrd was a 2nd, right?) plus McKelvin as another 1st. and the DL obviously with a #3 overall and two high-priced FA's, one of whom was the #1 overall pick.

Because their LB's aren't very good. On the OP list that corresponds to "lack of talent". It's the LB's that you want making most of your tackles, the LB's that are supposed to be the best tacklers, and the LB's that are without question the weak unit on the Bills defense. Barnett has had a good career but has clearly lost something with age. Sheppard is limited. Scott is a strong safety playing LB. Moats is a DE playing LB. Bradham shows some promise but he is also a rookie 4th round pick who hasn't played a full game's worth of defensive unit football yet in the NFL.

Tyler Wilson. http://www.cbssports...51/tyler-wilson Although I must say I am shocked to see Matt Barkley fall to us in one of their latest mocks... http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/mock

Child please! This IS still a business. If they could get even a 2nd-rounder for Freddy, Nix would be giving him a big warm sappy hug goodbye in about 15 seconds. A pick that high is what you use to elevate your 1st rounder where you need it to get your next franchise QB. Reality is they would be lucky to get a 4th - and he is worth FAR more than a 4th to the Bills - in part for the reasons you state. That's the part that makes the OP silly.

In fairness, Spiller surprised (pleasantly) a lot of people when he took over at the end of last season, and has continued to play at the level f a #9 overall pick, rather than the potential bust he had been looking like previously. This is all ultimately more about loving Spiller than any hate on FredEx.

Moorman is gone and Fred is not because unlike RB's (or even placekickers!), there is no utility whatsoever to keeping two punters. Moorman was stinking, looked for 2 seasons now that he'd hit a wall, and they wanted to keep one of the better punters to come out of college in a while. Moorman fooled everyone playing crazy-great in the pre-season, then immediately regressed when the season started. They gave him a few weeks, he still looked bad, they went with young and talented. Fred IS still better at the goal line (probably) and they don't really want CJ getting 30+ carries, so why not keep Fred? It is worth noting that Fred really hasn't shown anything yet this season - which means not really much since his injury last year. Hopefully he is OK. We'll know a lot after the bye when he and CJ are both at 100% (hopefully) and they have Glenn back to get the OL back up to full-strength.

You may be on to something - let's go back to this "bag of hammers" idea: Do you think if we used enough hammers this bag you're referring to could pass more accurately than Fitz?

So what happened to Thigpen? He has been truly awful in nearly every appearance as a Bill so far, right?

Spot on. They are going to draft one next year, and they will be tied to that guy. They get to draft one of their own. Fitz and Edwards were what Gailey and Nix found lying around when he arrived. The current trajectory of this season (8-8, 9-7, maybe 10-6) will not get either Nix or Gailey fired. 7-9 or worse might cost Gailey his job but it would take at least that bad, even though I would be badly disapointed with less than 9-7.

Because the Bills' LB's still suck out loud - just as they did last season. Since then we have one new player - a 4th rounder Bradham. LB's set your tone on defense and do the most to stop the run - there is only so much the DL can do, particularly on outside runs. I don't have a problem with the off-season decisions, although we are kind of seeing a counterintuitive consequence of switching to a 4-3: Theoretically, a 4-3 uses one less LB than a 3-4 does, but having acquired Mario and Anderson, we actually ended up using a LB we wouldn't have to in a 3-4. In a 3-4 Mario Williams and Mark Anderson would have been the two starting OLB's and we'd only need 2 of Barnett/Sheppard/Bradham on the field in a base defense. Marcell, Kyle, and maybe Carrington or Spencer Johnson would be the 3rd DL? Playing a 4-3 probably helped sign MW and MA though.

All hail King E-ball!!!

I think some of that is the position - WR's are just never quite as intense about the outcome of a game, I suspect in large part because they are the most dependent players on the field. A WR knows he needs a decent throw from the QB, who needs time from the OL, and the WR knows he needs to be in a play-call where he is somewhere high in the list of reads. On defense, a MLB is captaining the defense and hitting somebody 30+ times a game (not all tackles, obviously, but taking on blocks, etc.) 10 touches is an amazing day for a WR - QB's are involved with everything of course, and starting RB's are looking at 25-35 touches. It's just impossible for a WR to be as invested in the game - they have to accept that they can only do so much. Just a theory, but I am running with it!

So agree. It is totally ridiculous that teams screw up their uniforms for fully 1/4 of the season - and for what? The chance to show off that they are contributing something like 5% of their proceeds to a worthy if highly overemphasized cause.

That may be right. Bills really can't afford to lose this week though, so I am definitely hoping for b) or a). It's not like Jackson is a long-term answer either.

That pass broke a lot of Bills fans' spirits. Not that it was completely surprising - he's been an innacurate mess, but that mess was just too damned much to excuse. It was a pathetically easy pass that could have won the game. Of course, the problem now is, there isn't anyone else on the roster who can do better. Maybe TJ, but he's probably not ready. After the bye maybe? My thoughts after this game were just that Fitz had done what he needed to convince Nix to draft his replacement next April, but until then I doubt the Bills have a better option.

So true - As bad as the Bills looked in their losses, it can't be discounted that they have managed to get to 2-2 on the road, and what was easily their toughest home matchup of the year (NE) is behind them. 6-2 at home plus 4-4 on the road is a typical way to get to 10-6. Can they do either? I am not betting money against Tennessee this week, mind you, but the Bills are still in position to succeed. It would probably be the Colts and Dolphins to end the year 4-4 on the road. 5 out of 6 at home has to come from TENN, MIA, SEA*, JAX, STL, NYJ. They have to play decently, obviously, but they don't have to be amazing to manage that. Obviously the way they have been playing in detail hasn't been encouraging. But put another way - the only real disappointment right now in wins and losses from where the season started is that I thought they would get one of the Jets/Pats. It is a REALLY GOOD THING they don't have to travel to Seattle. Toronto may be a dome, but it is nothing like the loud home atmosphere in Seattle.

Please no! NFL coaches don't get any more overrated than that blow-hard. His track-record picking and handling QB's is horrific, btw - makes the Bills since Kelly look like geniuses.

Yeah really - Upshaw is trying to replace Suggs while he recovers from his Achilles - he's not remotely an MLB. I believe Lewis is better than Butkis even considering different eras. Singletary has to enter the mix too.

Seven weeks out from Achilles surgery myself, I have a third reason to root for Shawne to come back strong! For sure: SWAGGER +3

From Chris Brown: Down to just three defensive ends for the foreseeable future the Bills brought a veteran pass rusher back that they released as the end of training camp. Shawne Merriman was re-signed by the club on Tuesday to provide competent depth to the position. Merriman will help to fill the void left by Mark Anderson, who had knee surgery last week, and could miss anywhere from three to nine weeks.

Yeah - I wonder if he is light and fast enough to go to LB - that's really where they need the help.

Wow - VERY interesting. Good luck to him - I hope he does well for the Bills' sake and his.

Bills had amzingly bad LB's last year. This year they are using one less, and maybe Bradham is good, but Barnett looks old and Sheppard has not improved. This is an issue until they improve the talent at that position. Good news it really is just the LB's and QB that need upgrading now. The rest of the team looks plenty good. Tasker seemed to think Kelsay was playing inside by design - in which case it's hard to blame him for not sealing the edge.

I have no idea what you are talking about. And what's this big pressure he's been under back there? He is missing 5-yard outs to wide open receivers and with no pressure. Completing 58% in Gailey's offense does not impress me - these are short passes to wide open targets. And even when the receiver makes the catch, their YAC is often limited by having to adjust their balance to recover from his poorly placed pass. Sanchez sucks - that is a pointless comparison.