Back from Bills Game and

[Bob in STL]

I was in Buffalo for the weekend and went to the game.

Great day, perfect weather (warm actually) and despite all the negative feedback on the parking, things seem to go smooth. We got to ECC at 10:15 and there was tons of parking places so we parked in our usual spot no problem. We went into the Stadium via gate 4 about 30 minutes before kickoff. No long lines and no big deal on the pat down. The crowd was great.

 

On to football:

 

1. I watched the OL and DL on almost every down with binoculars. I can see a rivalry in the making. Wood and Wilfork were as great matchup. Wood took a few penalties but he did not back down. Wilfork continues to live up to his image as a dirty player.

 

2. I was hard on the OL in preseason and they are proving me wrong. The look good. Levitre was a beast. Rhinehart or Urbik, I saw no difference in the play. The tackles were solid too.

 

3. Our DBs all played a well, despite the numbers put up by Brady. They made plays when we needed them.

 

4. Our DL did not get much pressure at all. With a few exceptions Brady had all day. I saw some pressure from Merriman that almost resulted in grounding penalty. Merriman kind of slowed down on the tackle and fell to Bradys feet. On the next play Merriman was held or hooked by interior linemen, could have been Mankins. Blatant holding was missed. The Pats * ended up scoring their 3rd TD.

 

5. Barnett is our best LB right now. We need better players on the front seven.

 

6. Seeing Spiller on the bench, Troup hurt again and Carrington getting limited reps. So far our best players from that draft were not even drafted.

 

7. Not enough words to say about Freddie Jackson. His pass blocking was great and that factor alone will keep Spiller on the bench.

 

8. Our young receivers are looking very good. Roosevelt is a big drop off from Jones, Johnson and Nelson though.

 

9. We had another one of the those TE TDs

 

10. Fitz overcame a slow start and his leadership is infectious. I sense the change in the attitude of this team. They are well spoken, well prepared and well coached. The losing culture is changing. They are accountable to themselves and to their team mates. They trust their coaches. This team is much different than 2008.

 

Final note: You guys are always talking best wings, best pizza. I went to Duffs on Sheridan. I havent been there in 30 years. The wings were bad. To me, they use way too much vinegar and no butter flavor at all. You can do better at almost any bar or restaurant. This was the only disappointment on my trip. Duffs is living on an old rep IMO.

Edited September 27, 2011 by Bob in STL

[Gordio]

I was in Buffalo for the weekend and went to the game.

Great day, perfect weather (warm actually) and despite all the negative feedback on the parking, things seem to go smooth. We got to ECC at 10:15 and there was tons of parking places so we parked in our usual spot no problem. We went into the Stadium via gate 4 about 30 minutes before kickoff. No long lines and no big deal on the pat down. The crowd was great.

 

On to football:

 

1. I watched the OL and DL on almost every down with binoculars. I can see a rivalry in the making. Wood and Wilfork were as great matchup. Wood took a few penalties but he did not back down. Wilfork continues to live up to his image as a dirty player.

 

2. I was hard on the OL in preseason and they are proving me wrong. The look good. Levitre was a beast. Rhinehart or Urbik, I saw no difference in the play. The tackles were solid too.

 

3. Our DBs all played a well, despite the numbers put up by Brady. They made plays when we needed them.

 

4. Our DL did not get much pressure at all. With a few exceptions Brady had all day. I saw some pressure from Merriman that “almost” resulted in grounding penalty. Merriman kind of slowed down on the tackle and fell to Brady’s feet. On the next play Merriman was held or hooked by interior linemen, could have been Mankins. Blatant holding was missed. The Pats * ended up scoring their 3rd TD.

 

5. Barnett is our best LB right now. We need better players on the front seven.

 

6. Seeing Spiller on the bench, Troup hurt again and Carrington getting limited reps. So far our best players from that draft were not even drafted.

 

7. Not enough words to say about Freddie Jackson. His pass blocking was great and that factor alone will keep Spiller on the bench.

 

8. Our young receivers are looking very good. Roosevelt is a big drop off from Jones, Johnson and Nelson though.

 

9. We had another one of the those TE TDs

 

10. Fitz overcame a slow start and his leadership is infectious. I sense the change in the attitude of this team. They are well spoken, well prepared and well coached. The losing culture is changing. They are accountable to themselves and to their team mates. They trust their coaches. This team is much different than 2008.

 

Final note: You guys are always talking best wings, best pizza. I went to Duffs on Sheridan. I haven’t been there in 30 years. The wings were bad. To me, they use way too much vinegar and no butter flavor at all. You can do better at almost any bar or restaurant. This was the only disappointment on my trip. Duffs is living on an old rep IMO.

 

 

Good analysis. Glad you had a good time.

 

Duffs sucks. I have been saying it for years.

[Bob in STL]

Good analysis. Glad you had a good time.

 

Duffs sucks. I have been saying it for years.

 

On the positive side I had a great dinner at Frank's Sunny Italy on Saturday night. Ot is on Delaware and Tacoma. Huge portions, family dinning, and reasonable cost.

[NickelCity]

Duffs sucks. I have been saying it for years.

 

I went to Duffs about 8 (maybe 10?) years ago...I had the same reaction. Living on an old rep.

[Kelly the Dog]

On the positive side I had a great dinner at Frank's Sunny Italy on Saturday night. Ot is on Delaware and Tacoma. Huge portions, family dinning, and reasonable cost.

Frank's is awesome. Duffs sucks. Bills are great and a different kind of team. Excellent analysis.

[SouthernMan]

 

 

Final note: You guys are always talking best wings, best pizza. I went to Duffs on Sheridan. I havent been there in 30 years. The wings were bad. To me, they use way too much vinegar and no butter flavor at all. You can do better at almost any bar or restaurant. This was the only disappointment on my trip. Duffs is living on an old rep IMO.

 

Ditto.

 

We used to hit Duff's back in the 70's, early 80's as a reputable joint to get great wings and cold beer. Went there last fall for the first time in about 30 years. A complete dissapointment for me as well - especially after bragging on them to the wife (not from WNY), who'd never been there.

 

It's turned into a tourist thing, kind of a poor man's suburban Anchor Bar. The place was packed with out of towners and yuppie types. Back in our day it was just our little dive. I lived very close, so it was a fairly reular destination. Interesting note: like so many longtime Buffalo establishments, it's barely changed since the mid-70s that I remember. Dingy as ever.

People talk about "Buffalo Wings" as if there's some great secret recipe. I'm in suburban Atlanta and there are actually a few places that have the sauce right. A place close to where we live has great tasting chicken, they're fried just right (crispy), but their sauce is horrible. We go there when we want wings out. I order them "naked", and after being served, I dress 'em myself from a little jar of the "secret recipe" (Frank's & Margarine)sauce taken from my wife's purse. Voila..real wings, the way they're meant to be.

 

I now forget what it was about the last Duff's wings that we all disliked so much, but just remember they weren't very good. Don't know how they managed to screw that up.

Edited September 27, 2011 by DML2005

[eball]

Final note: You guys are always talking best wings, best pizza. I went to Duffs on Sheridan. I haven’t been there in 30 years. The wings were bad. To me, they use way too much vinegar and no butter flavor at all. You can do better at almost any bar or restaurant. This was the only disappointment on my trip. Duffs is living on an old rep IMO.

I've never liked Duffs, and that was nearly 20 years ago. Way too soupy.

 

Best wings for my $$ are at Gabriel's Gate downtown, or the Bar Bill in East Aurora.

[Taro T]

I've never liked Duffs, and that was nearly 20 years ago. Way too soupy.

 

Best wings for my $$ are at Gabriel's Gate downtown, or the Bar Bill in East Aurora.

We have a winner.

 

Elmo's in Getzville are solid as well.

[BillsFanNC]

Thanks for your analysis, some good insight there. I agree 100% on Duff's, I never understood the vinegar overloaded wing sauces. Franks has enough vinegar already, there is no need to add more.

[BillsBackersChicago]

I love you all for turning this thread into one primarily about Buffalo wings.

[Never NEVER Give-up]

I LOVE Duff's - sorry guys. I think they are still the best. Gabe's Gate too. I'm a little older now, so I have dialed down the heat - I go for mild-medium now - just right for me. Although I no longer go to the Sheridan Patio - too many "tourists" and UB Students - there isn't an hour during the day where you'd see a lull there. Those college kids eat non-stop and at all hours during the day. Always busy. So we go to the one on Dick Rd near George Urban Blvd - cleaner, brighter and a lot more space - not to mention we can always get a seat if we go before 6pm.

[D521646]

CJ really needs more reps against Cincy, as I felt he didn't play enough in the NE game. I trust Gailey on this one, and I think he'll get it right with Spiller.

 

 

Tim-

[2020 Our Year For Sure]

If we won, Spiller played enough.

[john]

Great post. thank you for sharing!!! It's been said by several players after the game that the coaches didn't dial up any blitzes are all. Guessing they were afraid to get burnt deep and would rather let Brady nickle and dime them and hope to make a few big plays, which they did.

 

One question I have is regarding Roosevelt. I didn't even hear his name mentioned Sunday. Was he on the field at all? Are you saying he doesn't run good routes or get open? Dissapointing if true becuase on the few occasions I watched him in live action last year, he looked great to me and hand great hands.

Thanks again for your post!

John

 

 

I was in Buffalo for the weekend and went to the game.

Great day, perfect weather (warm actually) and despite all the negative feedback on the parking, things seem to go smooth. We got to ECC at 10:15 and there was tons of parking places so we parked in our usual spot no problem. We went into the Stadium via gate 4 about 30 minutes before kickoff. No long lines and no big deal on the pat down. The crowd was great.

 

On to football:

 

1. I watched the OL and DL on almost every down with binoculars. I can see a rivalry in the making. Wood and Wilfork were as great matchup. Wood took a few penalties but he did not back down. Wilfork continues to live up to his image as a dirty player.

 

2. I was hard on the OL in preseason and they are proving me wrong. The look good. Levitre was a beast. Rhinehart or Urbik, I saw no difference in the play. The tackles were solid too.

 

3. Our DBs all played a well, despite the numbers put up by Brady. They made plays when we needed them.

 

4. Our DL did not get much pressure at all. With a few exceptions Brady had all day. I saw some pressure from Merriman that “almost” resulted in grounding penalty. Merriman kind of slowed down on the tackle and fell to Brady’s feet. On the next play Merriman was held or hooked by interior linemen, could have been Mankins. Blatant holding was missed. The Pats * ended up scoring their 3rd TD.

 

5. Barnett is our best LB right now. We need better players on the front seven.

 

6. Seeing Spiller on the bench, Troup hurt again and Carrington getting limited reps. So far our best players from that draft were not even drafted.

 

7. Not enough words to say about Freddie Jackson. His pass blocking was great and that factor alone will keep Spiller on the bench.

 

8. Our young receivers are looking very good. Roosevelt is a big drop off from Jones, Johnson and Nelson though.

 

9. We had another one of the those TE TDs

 

10. Fitz overcame a slow start and his leadership is infectious. I sense the change in the attitude of this team. They are well spoken, well prepared and well coached. The losing culture is changing. They are accountable to themselves and to their team mates. They trust their coaches. This team is much different than 2008.

 

Final note: You guys are always talking best wings, best pizza. I went to Duffs on Sheridan. I haven’t been there in 30 years. The wings were bad. To me, they use way too much vinegar and no butter flavor at all. You can do better at almost any bar or restaurant. This was the only disappointment on my trip. Duffs is living on an old rep IMO.

[TPS]

I love you all for turning this thread into one primarily about Buffalo wings.

It was obviously the intention of the poster, with such an inflammatory remark!!

I totally agree with him, by the way...

Edited September 27, 2011 by TPS

[Kelly the Dog]

 

One question I have is regarding Roosevelt. I didn't even hear his name mentioned Sunday. Was he on the field at all? Are you saying he doesn't run good routes or get open? Dissapointing if true becuase on the few occasions I watched him in live action last year, he looked great to me and hand great hands.

Roosevelt played although he didnt do much. He caught one pass on a screen and didn't get anywhere. I think he dropped one pass, although the defender was close and I didn't see the replay. It looked like it hit him in both hands though and he didn't catch it. The play-by-play guy, Marv Albert, attributed it to Donald Jones (19) instead of Roosevelt (18) but it was Naaman.

[Bob in STL]

Great post. thank you for sharing!!! It's been said by several players after the game that the coaches didn't dial up any blitzes are all. Guessing they were afraid to get burnt deep and would rather let Brady nickle and dime them and hope to make a few big plays, which they did.

 

One question I have is regarding Roosevelt. I didn't even hear his name mentioned Sunday. Was he on the field at all? Are you saying he doesn't run good routes or get open? Dissapointing if true becuase on the few occasions I watched him in live action last year, he looked great to me and hand great hands.

Thanks again for your post!

John

 

 

Roosevelt played a whole series where we ended up punting. Compared to the other WRs he looks very small and slight in build. Fitz tried to hit him with a pass but his route was poorly run and he did not get open. I think he had a drop too. I grabbed my bonoculars to make sure Nelson was only resting and not hurt. Just not impressed.

 

I did see two blitzes in the seconds half, both were DBs and I recall one was by Byrd. Both blitzes were picked up with ease. On one Welker had a long catch and run. Blitzing is not a good idea against Brady/Welker/Hernandez/Gronkowski.

 

If we won, Spiller played enough.

 

 

I want Spiller to get more reps but I don't know how at this point?

 

After watching Jackson do everything, including great pass blocking, it is hard to see how Spiller fits in.

 

Hopefully Chan finds a way to use this kid.

 

I've never liked Duffs, and that was nearly 20 years ago. Way too soupy.

 

Best wings for my $$ are at Gabriel's Gate downtown, or the Bar Bill in East Aurora.

 

 

I am going back on Nov 11th.

 

I will try one of the above.

Edited September 27, 2011 by Bob in STL

[San Jose Bills Fan]

Excellent post as always, Bob.

 

Barnett is a big upgrade over Poz because he's a true sideline to sideline guy who can get real deep on his drops and cover his zones with excellent instincts and quickness. Poz is a great guy and all but Barnett is such an upgrade.

 

Jairus Byrd is on the verge of really putting it all together. With a Dad like perennial Pro Bowler Gil Byrd and a mentor like perennial Pro Bowler Aeneas Williams, it's no big surprise.

 

One more injury at wideout and we're in rough shape. Love the guys we have there but starting to get a bit thin at WR and CB.

 

The Bills didn't send extra pass rushers too often… in spite of desperate pleas from Bills fans. They were pretty disciplined as far as keeping guys in coverage.

I've never liked Duffs, and that was nearly 20 years ago. Way too soupy.

 

Best wings for my $ are at Gabriel's Gate downtown, or the Bar Bill in East Aurora.

Bar Bill in East Aurora. Great atmosphere too and who doesn't like drafts served in chilled, icy mugs?

 

Also their other food is great and they were the first Buffalo-area wing place (I was aware of) which started also serving honey-mustard, lemon-pepper, and garlic-parmesan wings. But their original style wings are awesome.

 

 

[Bob in STL]

Excellent post as always, Bob.

 

Barnett is a big upgrade over Poz because he's a true sideline to sideline guy who can get real deep on his drops and cover his zones with excellent instincts and quickness. Poz is a great guy and all but Barnett is such an upgrade.

 

Jairus Byrd is on the verge of really putting it all together. With a Dad like perennial Pro Bowler Gil Byrd and a mentor like perennial Pro Bowler Aeneas Williams, it's no big surprise.

 

One more injury at wideout and we're in rough shape. Love the guys we have there but starting to get a bit thin at WR and CB.

 

The Bills didn't send extra pass rushers too often… in spite of desperate pleas from Bills fans. They were pretty disciplined as far as keeping guys in coverage.

 

 

If Barnett is our best LB right now, and he was let go by The Pack, think about how much more talent we need? I hope that Sheppard, Batten, or Moats can develop into good starters.

 

I recall in the Polian/Butler eras that we hit on LBs in the draft all the time.

[Golden Wheels]

Good points all. Agree that Williams and Dareus could use help on the D-line, but I noticed that Kelsay was doing a very good job of disrupting plays at the line of scrimmage when he was lining up there.

 

I think we all knew how thin the Bills are at LB talent from the start of training camp. There's no question we need coverage of backs, TE in passing situations as well as the occasional blitz package.