So I was just checking the Bills forums

[Ring 6]

And a big part of that was Fitzpatrick who kind of mysteriously fell apart last year after a pretty strong start. He went 10 TDs/16 INTs and the Bills averaged 15 points in those 8 losses. His performance this year will determine the Bills' year more than anything.

That's not a promising bit of info for a Bills fan is it?
When you consider the lack of weapons as well, I think its a fair concern that the Bills will strugle on offense this year.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

Their D will be better than the Jets D..but with fitzpatrick back there...yeah they won't do much

 

[NEGoldenAge]

BB understands that there are times in the NFL where you are forced to throw the ball. The same does not hold true for the running game.

 

[NinjaZX6R]

"Super Mario" has had a history of deep tissue injuries for most of his career.

 

[Keyser Söze]

Bills forum has always been just as delusional as any Jest one.

 

[upstater1]

Obviously you can find individual games from that era where passing saved the day, but fact is that 5 years ago, the Patriots shifted from a defensive minded team to an offensive minded one. They have 3 rings from before the shift, but none since.

Let it be noted that I don't think this was a deliberate strategy to shift from defense to offense. I think it's merely a by-product of the personnel they've had available.

Umm, wait a second. They've been to the Super Bowl twice in the last 5 years.

The implication of the post I replied to is that you can't win the Super Bowl with a pass happy offense. Clearly, the Patriots are getting to Super Bowls now with this pass happy offense. They are just not winning them.

 

[Wolfpack]

Umm, wait a second. They've been to the Super Bowl twice in the last 5 years.

Yes they have. So what part of my statement "They have 3 rings from before the shift, but none since" are you finding fault with?

 

[Triumph]

Bad news for the Bills, they were 1-5 vs the teams on that list they played last year, including being swept by both the woeful Fins and Jets.
Lets not forget this is a team that lost 8 of their last 9,

First off, last seasons record has absolutely no bearing on this season. I'll put money down right now that KC beats Buffalo this season.

The Bills lost Fred Jackson for the season on 11/20.

He missed 6 games and 5 losses after that. 6 including the Miami game where he got hurt and only gained 17 yards. Prior to that he was tearing up the NFL and his 3.88 yac vs Chicago was his worst game.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Buffalo could be an 11-5 team this year and if Fitzpatrick plays well they could be a division winner and a SB contender as early as 2013....but this year I see a wild card berth and an early exit in the playoffs.

There should be reason for excitement for Bills fans,they have what COULD be an up and coming team.

 

[upstater1]

Yes they have. So what part of my statement "They have 3 rings from before the shift, but none since" are you finding fault with?

No, the question is what did YOU find fault with in my earlier post. I said they won a Super Bowl due to a pass-happy offense. Clearly, winning a Super Bowl by going pass happy is not something holding back the Patriots.

They've proven in the recent past they can get to Super Bowls with pass-happy offenses, and they've proven they can win a Super Bowl with a pass-happy offense.

Clearly, pass happy offenses are NOT the problem.

In fact, they would have beaten the Giants this year if they passed the ball more instead of sending a jumbo package out there to run the ball when they had the Giants on their heels in the 4th quarter. You can point to that sequence when they went to the run as what lost the game.

 

[Patstopia]

If The Jets fans can think they have a great team, then Buffalo fans can surely think they have a Super Bowl contending team! Hope is always overflowing this time of the year. The only time there is more hope is after the first 4 games of the season and all the projections start... You know like a 3-1 start equates to a 12-4 season.

 

[Deus Irae]

All I'd like to see is the Pats team finish number one in the NFL at the end of the season, and I feel that will only happen if they have more balance to their offense. The pass-happy stuff hasn't won a ring for them.

Why do people continue to post this "pass-happy stuff" argument as if it's significant? The Patriots have been to the Super Bowl 5 times under Belichick. 2 of those 5 times came after the change from a defensive team to an offensive powerhouse in 2007:

2000-2006 - 3 SB appearances
2007-2011 - 2 SB appearances

and it's quite likely that the only reason it's not 3-3 is the Brady injury in 2008.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

And a big part of that was Fitzpatrick who kind of mysteriously fell apart last year after a pretty strong start. He went 10 TDs/16 INTs and the Bills averaged 15 points in those 8 losses. His performance this year will determine the Bills' year more than anything.

I always thought Fitz was halfway decent, a mid tier guy who could step up now and then, but as you point out he was absolutely AWFUL after the beginning of last year. I look forward to seeing what his steady state level is this season. I like the Bills and would love to see them #2 in the AFCE.

 

[DaBruinz]

Buts its not even like they made Dream Team moves. They signed one good, albeit injury prone player, and a journeyman who played in sub packages and got some sacks while struggling with the rest of his game to now play every down.
Their defense was bad last year. Williams figures to make it better, but I don't see better parts surrounding him in Buffalo than I saw all those years in Houston, when they averaged a 24th ranking in points allowed and were never in the top half of the league.

When I read stuff like this from a supposedly intelligent football fan, I just have to shake my head because it's clear you haven't really looked at the Bills at all or given them a fair evaluation.

First, The Bills increased their dept at DE significantly with the additions of Mario Williams and Mark Anderson. Adding those two to Chris Kelsay and Alex Carrington gives them some of the best DE depth in the AFC.

Second, Mario Williams is hardly "injury prone" as you claim. He didn't miss a single game his 1st four seasons. The 5 games in 2010 and the 11 games in 2011 were due to catastrophic injury.

Third, the Bills have a healthy Kyle Williams returning. When healthy, Williams is one of the top 5 DTs in the NFL.

As for your evaluation of Mark Anderson, it leaves a lot to be desired.. You overlook that Anderson stepped up his game and was actually decent against the run when put in as a full time player. You also over-look that not all of his sacks came when he was a part-time player. So, the idea that he was only successful in sub-packages doesn't hold water.

Where the Bills are hurting is in their back 7. They have a really good safety in Jarius Byrd, but beyond that, they are questionable. They have the highly talented, but injury prone Terrence McGee. They have the mediocre talent in Leodis McKelvin. They added Stephon Gilmore who zoomed up the charts going from 3rd/4th round pick to mid first rounder. They also have the versatile, but mediocre, George Wilson. Beyond that, they are a whole lot of questions. And that is where they will be beaten in this pass happy league. Particularly if their rotation of DEs can't put pressure onto opposing QBs..

 

[patman52]

The bills dline should be one of the best in the division next year.

Williams, Darius, Kyle Williams, Kelsay, with Anderson, Merriman Carrington and Dwan Edwards for depth. I like their Secondary also.

When Jackson got hurt the O went into the toilet,

 

[Ring 6]

First off, last seasons record has absolutely no bearing on this season. I'll put money down right now that KC beats Buffalo this season.

The Bills lost Fred Jackson for the season on 11/20.

He missed 6 games and 5 losses after that. 6 including the Miami game where he got hurt and only gained 17 yards. Prior to that he was tearing up the NFL and his 3.88 yac vs Chicago was his worst game.

If last year has nothing to do with next year, why are you making excuses?
Last year is indicative of the quality of talent the team had, and since I was commenting on what they added, it would seem pertinent to point out where they were before.

 

[Ring 6]

When I read stuff like this from a supposedly intelligent football fan, I just have to shake my head because it's clear you haven't really looked at the Bills at all or given them a fair evaluation.

Right, since you disagree I couldn't have looked
Dude, I pretty much disagree with you on everything, so its almost a confirmation to me when you disagree.

First, The Bills increased their dept at DE significantly with the additions of Mario Williams and Mark Anderson. Adding those two to Chris Kelsay and Alex Carrington gives them some of the best DE depth in the AFC.

Is that Chris Kelsey the LINBACKER, and Alex Carrington the guy who has done nothing in the NFL?

Second, Mario Williams is hardly "injury prone" as you claim. He didn't miss a single game his 1st four seasons. The 5 games in 2010 and the 11 games in 2011 were due to catastrophic injury.

Catastrophic? Come on, even you know you are full of crap with that. The guy has missed a lot of time.

Third, the Bills have a healthy Kyle Williams returning. When healthy, Williams is one of the top 5 DTs in the NFL.

No he is not. He is OK, he was better on the nose in the 34.

As for your evaluation of Mark Anderson, it leaves a lot to be desired.. You overlook that Anderson stepped up his game and was actually decent against the run when put in as a full time player. You also over-look that not all of his sacks came when he was a part-time player. So, the idea that he was only successful in sub-packages doesn't hold water.

I'm not overlooking anything. He was terrible vs the run. Guys like you see him make 2 plays in run defense and ignore him getting swallowed alive by blockers on most of the running plays he was in on, and act as if its good that he ever made a play. He was, and always has been awful vs the run. He didn't even play base D until Carter was injured, and he had 1 sack in the 2 games left in the season. Only you can say that since 1 sack wasn't in a sub package that he was effective in other packages.

Where the Bills are hurting is in their back 7. They have a really good safety in Jarius Byrd, but beyond that, they are questionable. They have the highly talented, but injury prone Terrence McGee. They have the mediocre talent in Leodis McKelvin. They added Stephon Gilmore who zoomed up the charts going from 3rd/4th round pick to mid first rounder. They also have the versatile, but mediocre, George Wilson. Beyond that, they are a whole lot of questions. And that is where they will be beaten in this pass happy league. Particularly if their rotation of DEs can't put pressure onto opposing QBs..

As I said, they were a bad D that added 1 significant player who was on a more talented defense in Houston that was typically a bottom 10 defense, and was never better than average.
Incredibly that you can lambast my post as uninformed, then come to almost the same conclusion. Cut down on the caffeine.

 

[pork3]

Frankly, eventhough I"m a Pats fan, I'm encouraged by the possibility of increased level of play from at least one of our AFC East rivals. Let's not forget, the Bills did finally manage to defeat us last year, admittedly with our porous secondary and shoddy defense giving way as usual.

When I saw this thread, I did slightly cringe though, as the last time we had a Bills thread, countless Bills fans made their way here in wild boasts of their team's performance in this upcoming season.

Let the games begin, god only knows I can't stand watching baseball...

-Jamman

 

[lurker1965]

Dude I'm wrong a lot.
I'm just responding to your post. It seems to be you who has a problem with any level of disagreement, correction or opinion.

Dude, you fell into his trap.

Not getting involved in the argument, just pointing out tactics.

By predicting "your need for the last word. 5...4...3..." anything you reply with is proof you are an insecure poster - whether on not that is accurate.

Here is practice. Do NOT respond to this post!

 

[BuffaloStampede21]

A legitimate reason for optimism in Buffalo -- here are 12 of their opponents:

Chiefs
Browns
Cardinals
Titans
Colts
Jaguars
Rams
Seahawks
Jets X 2
Dolphins X 2

Ok really yeah talking trash when you guys have the easiest in the league haha