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We will found out if Nate's in a 33 pool here..

can we PLEASE fire Nate Hackett? we can finish the year with Marrone calling the plays and the QB coach can help take over the offense since he was brought in specifically for EJ so now he doesn' t have a lot to do. or how about let the fans vote on the play to be run online? or maybe have a monkey that randomly picks a play for a banana? anything would be better than Hackett at this point

OFFICIAL: Nate Hackett has adjusted the scoring sliders for Field Goals on his fantasy league. Dan Carpenter is in his starting line-up.

ABSOLUTE !@#$ ING JOKE NATE HACKETT IS.

I literally want to reach through my TV screen and punch Nate Hackett in the head.

God I hate Nate Hackett!

Nate said this stuff use to work great against Stoneybrook.

amaing. the genius of Nate Hackett at work. Run up the middle twice with a winded 4th string RB and then get sacked and out of FG range

Let me guess.....run, run, pass? Am I right Nate?

Nate might be able to turn this field position into a FG....fingers crossed.

Would like to see Brown get more touches....maybe even something outside, if thats in Nates playbook

Nate Hackett is such a !@#$ing POS. Two picks by the D and then let's be pussies on offense. Easily could be 21-0 right now. If we lose this game it's 100% on out douchebag OC.

Kyle Orton is receiving props as a fantasy pick this week vs. the Jets based on his 5 TDs and ~900 passing yards in the last (3) games. The Jets have the weakest pass protection vs. TDs scored in the league. I hope they are right! Also, the idea that Nate Hackett plans to "ride the hot hand" between Bryce Brown and Anthony Dixon is one I have questioned during many a Bills game lately. The Bills have favored the idea to rest and rotate their featured backs. I have always wondered what would / could happen with keeping the hot back in the game and just keep plugging away, riding the momentum. Kind of like the game was played previous to this. Football is an emotional, momentum paced sport. Runner rips off a big gain, keep him in there and plug away.

According to Nate Silvers system, you should take the Cowboys. But if you want to save them, the Browns look good as well.

Microsofts Cortana - Kansas City Chiefs vs. Buffalo Bills — Chiefs win, 61.4% chance Nate Silvers Elo Model: Chiefs favored 53% to 47% with a Elo point spread of 0.5. CBS with spread (Bills +1.5): 3 take the Bills and 5 take the Chiefs CBS Straight Up: 4 and the computer take the Bills, 4 take the Chiefs. Some bonehead named Ryan Wilson picked the Bills straight up but the Chiefs with the spread (Bills getting 1.5) ... WTF ESPN: 4 take the Bills and 9 plus the computer take the Chiefs. Article from fivethirtyeight (Nate Silvers site) about playoff implications of this weeks games. Bills/Chiefs listed as an important one. "Other games of note include Kansas City visiting the Buffalo Bills, which will have huge playoff implications for the two participants (the rest of the AFC is mostly indifferent)." http://fivethirtyeig...mi-and-detroit/

I disagree. Look at his first round picks: Nate Clements. Result: played well for the Bills, especially in his contract year. Left a year after his rookie contract ended. Didn't set the world on fire after the 49ers overpaid for him. Mike Williams. Result: Bust. Drew Bledsoe (trade). Result: had eight spectacular games as a Bill. During his remaining 2.5 years, he failed to match the numbers Trent Edwards would later put up. (Which is really sad.) Was released at the end of his third year. Willis McGahee. Result: Was a reasonably good RB for the Bills. Was traded away for two third round picks. Lee Evans (13th overall). Result: a good #2 WR/deep burner, who didn't have what it took to be a #1 guy. J.P. Losman. Result: Bust. None of his first round picks turned into solid, long-term answers at their respective positions. The same could also be said about any player he drafted in rounds 2 - 7 not named Aaron Schobel. During his last year as GM, the Bills went 5-11. Not only were we 5-11, but it was an aging team. Some of its best talent including guys like Troy Vincent, Lawyer Milloy, and London Fletcher. That team had no quarterback, no offensive line, no receivers except Lee Evans, no tight end, not much on the defensive line except Aaron Schobel, and an aging linebacker corps. The secondary consisted of a mix of older players, or guys like Nate Clements who had one foot out the door.

I agree. But can he do that? The problem that I have is that with these young players, the O-line such as it is for now, Nate calling plays etc...I really don't think that Peyton Manning or Tom Brady would have played any better these last four games. Maybe worse. That suggests to me that Orton is maybe hot right now but that eventually he will find his right cruising altitude, unless, of course, he's a late bloomer and suddenly in the top half of starting QBs in this league. That sure would be nice. Anyway we've got 8 more games to try and figure all of that out.

10-29: Bills DC Jim Schwartz on the John Murphy Show (13:49) 10-29: Bills OC Nate Hackett on the John Murphy Show (20:12)

all right boys, git yer red pens out and mark up this mid-term > I think my favorite thing about this team is just how physically they play the game. I don’t like to see guys hurt, but I dislike it a lot less when they’re not our guys; and there have been an awful lot of times this year that you see a player down and then find yourself relieved to learn that it is not a Bill. Individual injuries are typically a fluky sort of thing but when you see it repeatedly happening to opponents all over the field, week after week after week, that is a trend which points to just how much the Bills like to beat people up. Huge props to guys like Fred Jackson, Mario Wiliams, Erik Wood and Aaron Williams who have really set the tone for the relentless brawling style these guys are playing successfully with. > Some more props to Jim Schwartz and his unexpected display of self-containment. I was really worried about this hire because I feared that Schwartz’ outsized ego could be problematic with how he deployed this talent-rich defense. I envisioned him looking at this roster with bulging eyes and then trying to run a bunch of exotic nonsense that was well outside his wheelhouse; needless to say that has not been the case at all so far. He’s repeatedly put together tactically sound game plans for a variety of O's with minimal exposure to the few weak spots on this defensive roster. His self-restraint has allowed the talent level of his players to dictate outcomes for the vast majority of the season so far. if the Bills can stay healthy and Schwartz can continue to be conservatively creative as the season progresses, only very good offenses will be able to produce on these guys. > We've got half an OLine and half a truly offensive line. No worries with Glenn, Wood or Seantrel (that was just outstanding work Doug), but the half of the Bills OLine that consist of our two Guards and our TE’s is a sight for blind eyes. Erik Pears might be a wonderful father and a magnanimous philanthropist but he simply has no business residing on an NFL roster at this point. I give him all the credit and respect in the world for using nothing but guts and guile to parlay a very limited skill set into some significant paydays, but his expiration date has arrived. Maybe he’ll be a fine coach some day, but his lack of athleticism has caught up to him at the ripe old age of 30ish and repeatedly trotting him out there week after week is hurting this offense…..badly. The fact that neither of the guys that Doug drafted this year can move Pears off his spot could be very troubling, or it could be another sign of a potential problem with the manner in which our coach deploys players. Leading to……. > I cannot be the only one around here who has seen just about enough of Doug Marrone’s horsespit. His dicking around with guy like Mike Williams, Craig Urbik, Jerry Hughes, Robert Woods, etc is going to become a real world problem if he keeps it up. Don’t kid yourself that other players don’t recognize it and don’t kid yourself that it’s not going to be an issue moving forward. What is it that these guys have in common? None of them are cuddly critters and none of them have any interest in kissing coach ass. Marrone’s tough guy act and his petulant need to have his posterior polished are a dangerous variable in a locker room full of grown-ass men. Do you know why Doug Whaley was able to steal a high-potentialed Badger OLineman who was on the Outland Watch List? It was because Urbik had had enough of Mike Tomlin, they didn’t get along and Doug knew it. And because of it the Bills ended up robbing the Stillers of a very reliable OLineman. When this scenario repeats itself, this time it will be the Bills who get robbed of a good player, and it will be because of a hard-ass coach who lets personalities get in the way of professionalism. I know Urbik (like Williams, Woods and Hughes) isn’t going to win any Teacher’s Pets awards, but it doesn’t mean he’s not coachable, nor does it mean you hurt the rest of the team because of some infantile need to “put him in his place”. Watching Urbik standing uselessly on the sideline while the Bills Guards are getting their asses kicked all over the place in every quarter of every game is a glaring symptom of a troubling disease that will need to be addressed. How to address it is certainly debatable, but let’s not pretend it doesn’t exist, because you can damned well be sure the players recognize the condition. > OK, enough of that (but yeah that felt alllll right). How 'bout the Bills secondary. I know we like to have spastic fits every time we see a Bills corner give up a completion, even in a league where playing any pass defense has become viewed by officials as a potential act of on-field terrorism. But the truth of the matter is that this secondary has been really, really good this year. And I’m not talking just the last couple weeks; they’ve been very effective for nearly every half they’ve played this year. Do you all realize just how many coverage sacks these guys have been racking up since the season started? Schwartz’ patient, well-controlled pass rush leads to virtually no free runners or jailbreak scenarios for this defense. They inevitably apply pressure, but it’s more of a gradual, squeezing pressure than the kind of fast, explosive pressure that forces turnovers. Despite that fact, these guys are not only leading the NFL in sacks (most of which could clearly be qualified as coverage sacks) but they are also leading the NFL in interceptions! The next time you get to barking because you saw a DB give up a completion, maybe you ought to consider the previous 15 plays where you failed to see that DB when he didn’t give up an inch and frequently forced a sack or a throwaway. Which is exactly what they’ve done as much as any secondary in the NFL this year. > Marcel Dareus is an unholy terror and there isn’t an OLineman in the NFL who isn’t pissing down his leg when he sits down to watch film of him. > Lots of stuff on TSW about Nate , err Nathaniel Hackett. I could be misreading it but it kind of looks like maybe one or two people don’t care too much for him? - ) Watching this Bills offense has been an exercise in frustration this season, especially when you consider how many chances a very effective defense has given them. But I am not entirely convinced that laying all of the blame for this at Hackett’s feet is an accurate assessment of the situation. The guy has done a pretty nice job of assembling a functional passing attack with real question marks at OLine, QB and TE. His route combination and real time calls during games have been very effective at using scheme and match-ups to get guys open at good spots on the field. That being said, the Bills running game has been nothing short of abysmal all year long. But is Hackett really the root problem with that aspect of the Bills offense? Looking around the board the two primary complaints I seem to be seeing are predictable playcalling (run/run/pass) and a lack of variety in the rungame. I don’t put a lot of stock in that first complaint because a) you hear it from every fan and the horse they rode in on and b) I don’t think we realize just how hard it is to call an effective offense in real time when you have to be ready to go while guys are still getting off the ground. It’s easy to sit in front of your TV when both units are already deployed and the play clock is winding down and call plays. You spend a few quarters calling Spider 2 Y Banana before Fred has even handed the ball to the official and see how well you do then. Anyhoo, I understand the first complaint as it relates to Sunday. Yes the pattern was repetitive and predictable. But it’s also worth taking into account that we were on the road holding a 2 score lead over a division rival; that is most certainly NOT the time to go out there and start slinging it around and invite the bad guys back into the game. That’s exactly the part of a game when a team who wants to be committed to the run, actually goes out there and commits to the run. Could he have done a better job of getting a controlled passing aspect involved to break it up occasionally? Yes he could have, but it’s hardly a firing offense. I understand the second complaint as it relates to the entire season and imo it holds a little more merit. Watching the Bills rungame consist of repeatedly trying to unsuccessfully jam the ball up into the 1, 0 and 2 holes can be really freaking aggravating. But if you consider the other available options and their likely results you start to maybe see why Hackett has been doing exactly that. He can’t call up the stretch play with any consistency because both his guards are getting blown into the backfield on every other down. He starts doing that and all the sudden the Bills are going to be spending all day behind schedule in 2nd/13 and 3rd/9. . He’s not going to start calling up a bunch of draw plays because, again, he’s only going to end up with TFL’s and holding calls that put the Bills behind schedule and lead to punts and turnovers. He can’t run off tackle because he doesn’t have any TE’s he can put out there kick (or block anybody with any sort of consistency whatsoever). When you look at a 7man OLine that only has 3 guys you can count on, it severely limits your options. If the Bills really want to be committed to the run, repeatedly jamming it into the interior OLine for minimal gains (and minimal risk) is probably the safest way to go about it. If we’re going to really give Hackett the business, maybe we ought to consider questioning his strategic thinking instead of his tactical. > I cannot wait to see a healthy Kiko back on the field with the Bills next year. It’s looking like he and Bradham might both be long term answers as edge players at the second level for the Bills, and that is something we haven’t had around here in a pretty long time. And when you see the game slowing down for Preston Brown a little bit more every week, it looks like we might already have the makings of a solid group of starters at LB on the roster right now. And that hasn’t been the case around here in a veeerrrrry long time. It is not far-fetched at all to think that at this time next year, the Bills might have the very best Front7 on the planet. And while some of y’all like to win with a great QB, or a powerful OLine, or a brilliant coaching staff, for my money the heart of a great football team is its defensive Front7. You make yourself dominant there and it covers up an awful lot of warts elsewhere on your roster. Doug Whaley recognizes that value and I look forward to us remaining strong there as long as he is making the calls. > So what should be the Bills strategy going forward to make themselves competitive on a consistent basis? For my part I’d like to see the Pegulas do some much-needed housecleaning. I think it would be best for the Bills to excise the entire Russ Brandon cartel; clearing out an embedded 5th column of cronies who have been entrenched here through this 15 year slopfest might go a long ways to getting the whole organization pulling in the same direction. I would also like to see them part ways with pretty much everybody who has ever had a cup of coffee in Syracuse. Doug Marrone and his pals (i.e Hackett, Crossman,etc) do not strike me as the kind of crew that is conducive to either short-term or long-term success. Leave Doug Whaley in place to continue what he has begun (and begun very well for the most part) and make sure he understands that he has both the authority as well as the support of ownership to make independent decisions (i.e. not being pressured to hire Russ Brandon’s buddies) for the good of this football team. He’s an intelligent, well-prepared, stand-up guy who deserves the opportunity to do his thing. In the meantime let's start pestering him about how well Buffalo and Nick Saban might get along. I bet he could turn Maddy Bumgarner into a hell of a QB. Get on it Whaley!

Oh i am mad too he hasnt seemed to get rollling yet. I would have thought he might show a bit of flash once or twice. Have yet to look strong and or confident did like the two deep passes to Watkins though. Nates guys did see something there even though the first pass missed , but had the nuts to go at them again. which was the correct call in hindsight But it can be frustrating to watch. and if we do lose again he will be getting the business all that much more. cant blame a damn thing on Jim Schwartz even if you want to lately ! Go Bills

Chan must be Paul Hackett. I have seen you pop up to defend Nate in EVERY thread where there's a negative comment on him. Seriously, I bet if I went to the Off Topic board and posted a negative comment about Nate in the midst of a thread about cookie recipes you'd pop in to defend him. Leave it alone, He's objectively bad not because of scores which you like to parrot, or your stubborn notion that it is impossible to run behind a subpar interior line. The Broncos turned out 1k runners season after season with nobodies for so long after TD left because they ran an effective run blocking scheme, not because their lineman were all all-pros or they had top flight rushers.The threat of the pass and an effective scheme can CREATE opportunities for running. When a line is stifled, you can create de facto rushes by running screens and bubble screens. Hackett does NONE of this. He calls an interior run and the RB moves forward for a yard or two before running into the arms of a wave of defenders who know what our 2 super secret 1st and 2nd down plays are: run inside off the RG or LG.

Yolo, you're the best, but I hate "this fit the offense" stuff. If you can't make Spiller fit your offense, you're a bad coordinator. And it's one thing if we're talking about Sean Payton or Chip Kelly's offense. I'd be more willing to accept if Spiller couldn't fit their systems because they've proven something at this level. But it's Nate "freakin'" Hackett's offense. I just get this sick feeling that we will be watching Spiller on the Broncos, Eagles, or Saints become a monster and wonderign why so many fans defended NH.

The myth of Bryce Brown is now greater than the Myth of Kirk Cousins. But some of you are right. Spiller just sucks now. Nate Hackett's system gets the most out of players and it's dumb to question Sir Nate. I bet Phillip Tanner will thrive next. Or we called more effective plays.

It's clear to me: you guys just don't like Doug Marrone and Nate Hackett. It's just amazing to me that Marrone's teams win in SPITE of him according to many on these message boards. "Marrone is in over his head. Hackett is awful." The team is 5-3 and just came off a 20 point win on the road vs a division rival! Well, that's the DEFENSE, and it's not Marrone's defense. As head coach, only the success or failure of the OFFENSE matters in evaluating him. LOL Oh, but Rex Ryan's downfall as head coach is that HIS OFFENSE has stunk for years! A head coach is responsible for the ENTIRE TEAM!!! Just admit that you don't like Marrone and want to find any way to downplay anything positive that happens while he is coach.

I dont have a defense against your statement . I would suggest its both execution and play calling. They of course both effect the other. and yes we knew this. Last week was a glaring example. I am hoping they are getting some rhythm with the two new- ish running backs and maybe some spark back. CJ out might be a good thing for Nate. just a thought. Dixon seems like a Marrone type of back