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Me too, Lou. I could hardly believe that was Marrone.

Let's look at it this way: We traded down and parlayed our original first round pick into a QB and Kiko Alonso. So, with the first rounder we were given, we hit the jackpot! If we dump what's his name -- the QB that didn't pan out -- we still got a fantastic player with that pick. It's a win-win, and frees a roster spot for the real franchise QB we will take in the 2014 draft.

So you're saying that next year we get to watch the EJ Experiment all over again? Gee, I can hardly wait.

Will the rest of the team hang in there like lab rats in the ongoing experiment to ascertain whether the rookie QB does indeed suck. I fear that the lab rats have already made their evaluation. And I wonder what will happen to the real progress toward a winning culture if the remainder of the season is "all about EJ."

He gets Buffalo and what the Bills mean around here. The players seem to both like and respect/fear him. He puts his heart into his job, and sometimes even turns his cap around and puts his body into his teaching. If I had a son who played football, I'd hope for a guy like Doug Marrone to coach him at every level from peewee to high school to the NFL. Funny that the two coaches who've fit blue-collar, small market Buffalo the best are a dapper intellectual from Harvard and a big slug from the Bronx.

We are talking football here, not cosmological tribulation. "Hellacious" in football terms is when a rookie QB (with no reps that week because of the stupidity that is Thursday night football) finds himself backed up to the Cleveland Dawg Pound. "Hellacious" in football terms is when any QB (whether rookie, veteran, All-Pro, or Hall of Fame) finds himself facing a defense which, after 8 undefeated weeks, is... 1st in the NFL in turnover margin, 1st in the NFL in scoring defense, 1st in the NFL in sacks, and 1st in the NFL in third down stops. When my comments are intended to encompass the existential, I will let you know.

For a kid who's been thrown into some hellacious situations while doing his level best to make a living, he gets denigrated to a disturbing degree. I don't get it, but I'm sure of this: the dissing he takes says more about the dissers than the dissee.

Superlative!

Bless you!

This thread stands as its own inherent evidence that a corner has been turned. There's daylight ahead!

I appreciate that you have highlighted the honors Mario Williams and Nickell Robey have earned, But please don't call Robey "Nick." A guy who plays nickel in Buffalo -- the Nickel City -- should always be referred to by his given name, Nickell. I mean, how cool is that.

The Bills are listed among "The Watchable 20: Sport’s most entertaining teams:" http://www.sportsnet...uins-top-ranks/ 20. Buffalo Bills - That’s right, the biggest surprise of the NFL season: both the Jets and the Bills make an appearance on this list. Buffalo belongs here for their entertaining and surprising production at quarterback from both EJ Manuel and injury replacement Thad Lewis. But mainly, it’s because rookie linebacker Kiko Alonso (third in the NFL in tackles, first in interceptions) is fast-becoming the most watchable defensive player in football.

Bill from NYC just jumped the shark. It was fun while it lasted, Bill.

So the conventional wisdom around here is that while Thad Lewis has to be Bradyesque to become the starter, EJ Manuel just needs to play like EJ Manuel (which is about 1000 points beneath Bradyesque and 143 points beneath Thad-esque) to remain the starter. I'm fascinated. What have you guys got INVESTED in EJ Manuel? Do tell.

Steve Tasker is the most Hall of Fame worthy Bill. He changed the way special teams players are regarded. No other Bill is as widely acknowledged as the all-time best at his position.

red white and blue Bills versus teal/tangerine Metrosexuals

Not really, Braedenstearns, not if you know what "platonic" means. I was impressed by your optimism. So when it faltered and you posted this lost-puppy reply... ...I thought I'd cheer you up with a Buffalo football version of "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." But if you don't know what platonic means, then I doubt you'd know who Virginia is. Be that as it may, I hope you maintain your optimism.

Dear Braedenstearns, Yes, I really mean it. I have a platonic crush on you (whoever you are) and I now second my previous motion to nominate you as Mayor of Two Bills Drive. Furthermore, when the Super Bowl parade in honor of our victorious Bills proceeds down Delaware Avenue, my family and I will reserve a folding chair for you, labelled "Reserved for Braedenstearns, Mayor of Two Bills Drive." We'll be somewhere near the corner of Delaware and Summer Streets. See you then and there.

I love Braedenstearns and I nominate him/her for Mayor of Two Bills Drive.

For the life of me, I will never understand the regard for draft position. I just saw an undrafted QB outplay our first-QB-taken-in-the-draft QB by a discernible margin. At this point, the only perceptible thing Manuel's got over Lewis is draft position. So, gee, I can't wait for our shaky first-rounder to be back under center (or whatever the phrase is in shotgun/pistol) to remove the stigma of starting an undrafted QB. Draft position puts 'em on our roster instead of somebody else's roster (or vice-versa). That's all.

Whatever "it" is for an NFL coach, Marrone's got it. And for a lad from the Bronx, he "gets" Buffalo and the Bills. He's the coach we've been looking for since Levy.

The John Murphy show is extraordinary. He, unlike Schoop (sp?), loves what he's doing, and it makes all the difference. I get the biggest kick out of how he will interview established stars like Mario Williams or Eric Wood, then interview the newest addition to the practice squad with the same attention and energy. What a pro.

Geno looks way better than EJ. The main thing that makes him look better is his ability to stay upright. The evidence we have suggests that EJ has a pair of glass knees. I look forward to the day when these words are proved untrue. Unfortunately, today is not that day.