BillsVet

He beat the RB for that one. Count me less than impressed.

Good point. That's quite telling coming from the GM, but something I would think he'd have known long before signing him to an extension. It's also interesting considering that the GM went out of his way to say Merriman was the pass-rushing answer before the season. I chalk that up to Buddy being Buddy and BS'ing people again.

Few NFL people thought Merriman would make any sort of impact this season. He is physically a shell of what he used to be and that's why other teams weren't offering guaranteed money like Buffalo did. And as excellent a player as Williams is, he's just not a 30 front guy, 0, 5 tech, or shaded over. Last year with him Buffalo still yielded 170 rypg, but it certainly doesn't help for him to be out of the lineup in 2011. This season, Buffalo adds Dareus, Barnett, they're getting better play at safety, and still not much better than their first rebuilding season last year. It stands to reason there'd be improvement, but it's middling especially when compared to the offense. Perhaps there's a reason Edwards had 1 year as a DC (in Washington) and from 04-09 was back as a LB coach. He just looks completely overmatched on the sidelines when the cameras inevitably show him.

Wow. Gone too soon. RIP.

Thanks for making this point. I need my QB to be more consistent on his intermediate to deep throws than Fitz was yesterday. Both interceptions were passes more than 20 yards down the sideline, which is clearly not Fitz' strength. All due respect to Johnson, Nelson, Roosevelt, and Chandler, but none are going to beat people deep. Worse still, if Fitzpatrick lacks touch on these passes it could go downhill fast unless Chan comes up with something new. Until Fitzpatrick beats a few CB's in man or Cover-1, teams will keep doing what Cincinnati and NYG have done to Buffalo in the latter's two losses.

Let's not conflate the argument and go to such extremes. The Bills were relatively healthy for Week 5, missing only 1 player who I saw as not suitably replaced in Kyle Williams. That said, this was a winnable game despite being away. Buffalo was not missing enough players to pin this loss on injury. NYG were missing All Pro/Pro Bowl guys like Chris Snee and Justin Tuck, not to mention Brandon Jacobs and yet they won. Blaming injuries and often times calls is the excuse used far more often than it should be. Which players not playing specifically led to this team losing today?

Last I checked, injuries weren't a new phenomenon. 32 NFL teams deal with them at some point, and you've fallen back on this excuse in more than 1 thread now. Did you really expect no one or only replaceable starters would be hurt this season?

Worst? Loss?

Teams are adapting to what Buffalo does in the second half. Buffalo didn't run the ball well in the second half, certainly not like their did in the first. Their short passing game can be taken away too easily because they don't feature a great intermediate to deep passing game. Defensively, I've seen Philly and the Giants have their way with the Bills in both second halves. Think opposing coaches aren't seeing how to take away Buffalo's strengths. They're 1-2 in their last 3, but we'll see what happens over the long haul.

NYG lost to Seattle in their home park last week and was without Chris Snee and Brandon Jacobs. This is the NFL, injuries happen, and Buffalo's not able to make plays when it matters as teams take away their strengths. It's deeper than having 1 good, one average, and one underwhelming starter out.

Then how did they pressure Mike Vick so much last week? Frankly, neither the Eagles or Giants OL is that good, and it's amazing how NYG have kept the pocket free from Bills.

Did George Edwards do anything other than go to the bathroom during halftime? This defense seems eerily similar to previous quarters.

Bad Eli and Good Eli? How about Bad Drayton and Good Drayton. Today Buffalo's getting the bad version.

Can't remember the last time Nantz/Simms called a Bills game.

Kelsay is out this week. I know Troup has been banged up, but Kellen Heard being ahead of him on the depth chart with Williams out is not a good sign for a second year player who was picked high.

Parked in Hammer's Lot. All was well! We wait until about 5:45 before leaving and everything was OK, until the turn east after the Big Tree.

Jones took the cart off the field. And I love how 40 time is demonstrative of game speed. Sprinting in shorts at the combine is a whole lot different than running routes against press coverage on game day.

Cincinnati scored 8 points in their Week 3 matchup at home to San Francisco, totaling 228 yards of offense, 149 of it passing. Buffalo yields 450+ yards of total offense, 298 of it passing to the same team. Did Cincy in 1 week become an offensive juggernaut or are is Buffalo's defense just not good right now? I'll take the latter. 1400 yards of offense surrendered in 3 games can never be considered good, nor are there any reasons to justify. Next thing you know, someone will say Dick Jauron's about as good as Belichick if you take away DJ's bad seasons. Oh, wait, that's already been done here. Big Cat? Never happen.

Maybe, just maybe, the Bengals game plan took away Buffalo's strength over the middle of the field and the Bills couldn't respond. David Nelson was a complete non-factor, which, as Buffalo Rumblings points out, began in the second half of the NE game. Cincinnati forced Buffalo to throw outside the hashmarks, which is clearly not Fitzpatrick's forte. All of this isn't surprising considering the NFL is about taking away team strengths. And Buffalo couldn't run the ball against a good front 7, further compounding their offensive woes. This week will go a long way to showing whether Chan is as good an offensive mind as some are already saying he is.

I go from beating Belichick and then losing to Marvin freaking Lewis in one week. Dadgumit.

I used to think Steratore was a solid referee. After this game, I have serious doubts about he and his crew. That said, Buffalo was out-coached and out-played.

Last year, Buddy failed to show after his team got out to an 0-5 start. He finally appeared for a short interview after a Sullivan article needled him, though whether the piece hastened Nix' short Q and A is not certain. That said, I have to give credit to Nix for not riding out in front and taking credit after Buffalo's 3-0 start. It's important at this stage to allow the team and HC to be the focal point of all press. GM's aren't typically the face of their franchise and Nix has remained true to this idea. And while I still see most of the play-makers on the team as being acquired before Nix became GM, the team has some very good players found in unconventional ways. I would hope Fitzpatrick, Stevie Johnson, Levitre, Wood, and perhaps Fred Jackson are re-signed in short order to provide some certainty for future seasons. That's something I do expect the GM to be working on.

When you look at the people making plays so far this season, most of them are not Nix finds. Fitzpatrick, Stevie J, K. Williams, Kelsay (!), perhaps Bell, definitely Wood and Levitre, and of course Fred Jackson. Even Florence, McKelvin, and Byrd were there before Nix became GM. In fairness, Dareus, David Nelson, Chandler, and Donald Jones have all been added since 2010. No one can expect a rebuild to be completed in 1 season, but I wouldn't say the team has been reconstructed at all. Having said that, they've gotten great production from people Nix didn't find. And the 2010 draft hasn't yielded any starters yet.

IIRC, the thing that Nix and/or Gailey admitted could be the hardest thing to break was the losing mentality. I think it's safe to say they've gone a long way toward destroying that with these first 3 games. Those younger players may not know the pain a Kelsay, Moorman, Lindell, or McGee knows as veterans since earlier this decade, but they realize it's they can win games people don't think they can. Kudos to Chan and the host of guys who made plays when it mattered most today. They earned that win.