The AFC East has dog fight potential. Not sure that's good.

[HHURRICANE]

Uhh, I know it's pre-season. However, you might want to pay attention to what is happening in our division:

1) The Patriots D has looked like crap and even Lynch is under impressed.

2) Favre is going to be an instant upgrade. Maybe I took him too lightly.

3) A consistant Pennington and a strong Williams is going to cause problems.

I'm not saying the Bills will struggle to win games but the dynamic has changed and 1 win, even in a game that we aren't in, could determine the AFC East and who gets into the playoffs.

[Jan Reimers]

Agreed HH. Pennington has looked surprisingly good, and Favre just might have a year or two left.

[cocamide]

Agreed HH. Pennington has looked surprisingly good, and Favre just might have a year or two left.

Please God, not two years. I can't take all the media's Favre BS.

[djjimkelly]

Uhh, I know it's pre-season. However, you might want to pay attention to what is happening in our division:

1) The Patriots D has looked like crap and even Lynch is under impressed.

2) Favre is going to be an instant upgrade. Maybe I took him too lightly.

3) A consistant Pennington and a strong Williams is going to cause problems.

I'm not saying the Bills will struggle to win games but the dynamic has changed and 1 win, even in a game that we aren't in, could determine the AFC East and who gets into the playoffs.


ive stated this all offseason that the jets and miami will be much improved from last year these will not be 4 free wins like last year.

and not trying to be negative but take away those 4 free wins

we were a 3-9 team!

its scary when u think miami and jets have closed gap on us maybe in jets case passed us by

[VeggieMan14]

i think it is possible that the NFC East and the AFC east could have very similar results because like it or not the fins and jets both look better. but of course we know they are not as good as the bills and we will probably go 16-0 anyway :gobills:

[njsue]

Uhh, I know it's pre-season. However, you might want to pay attention to what is happening in our division:

1) The Patriots D has looked like crap and even Lynch is under impressed.

2) Favre is going to be an instant upgrade. Maybe I took him too lightly.

3) A consistant Pennington and a strong Williams is going to cause problems.

I'm not saying the Bills will struggle to win games but the dynamic has changed and 1 win, even in a game that we aren't in, could determine the AFC East and who gets into the playoffs.


The Pat's D is OLD. John Lynch is on his last leg.

Favre melt's under too much pressure. Aaron Schobel & Co should disrupt his rhythm.

Pennington behind Miami's crappy OLine. :hungry: Aaron Schobel

Just throw Widdle Wicky a Bone :;

[Ickybaluky]

The question on the Pats defense is at CB. They haven't replaced Samuel and last year teams threw away from him a lot. Teams are going to look to throw the ball on them outside until they show they can cover.

However, I think their defensive front 7 will be among the best in the NFL, and they are strong up the middle at S.

Richard Seymour is healthy again for the first time in 2 years, and will have a dramatic impact. One of their weaknesses last year was against the run, and I think they will get that shored up with a healthy Seymour and the addition of Mayo. Their DL remains a great strength of the team.

Their LB are going to be deep and strong. They have Vrabel returning on one side, and Thomas will be able to play exclusively outside this year, after being mis-cast at ILB for most of last season. Pierre Woods provides youthful depth, after getting playing time last year. Inside, Bruschi isn't a 3-down player any more but is still solid. Mayo has looked great and will start from day one. Crable will be used as a situational rusher. Victor Hobson has been a disappointment converting to ILB, so I would not be surprised if Seau is brought back at some point. However, John Lynch is playing a ILB-type position in sub packages and will make an impact. The guy can still tackle and is a very smart player, and he will see a lot of time given the Pats usually are playing with a lead.

The secondary is still a work in progress. Harrison, Sanders and Meriweather are a strong group and will make them strong up the middle. At CB, neither Hobbs nor Bryant is a #1 CB, and that will hurt them against the Pats. The rookies Wheatley and Wilhite shows promising skills, but they are typical rookies with up-and-down play. There is talk of Ty Law being brought back, but he isn't the same player he was years ago.

I think they will be a work in progress, but as the year goes along they will improve. I think they will be much stronger against the run, and should pressure the QB better with Seymour back, Thomas playing outside more and Crable helping on passing downs.

As for offense, they will score a bunch of points as long as Brady plays. Without him, they have a big question mark, but they still have the parts to be a great offense.

Overall, I'm pleased with how the preseason has played out. They have been plagued by a lot of nagging injuries, especially on the OL, but seem to have avoided the big injuries. With Matt Light returning for the start of the season I think things will settle down, and they made a nice veteran depth signing with Mike Flynn. I think they will continue to be a strong team as long as Brady plays.

[LtFinFan66]

The Pat's D is OLD. John Lynch is on his last leg.

Favre melt's under too much pressure. Aaron Schobel & Co should disrupt his rhythm.

Pennington behind Miami's crappy OLine. :hungry: Aaron Schobel

Just throw Widdle Wicky a Bone :;Yeah that crappy Miami O-line that has given up 3 sacks thus far in 3 preseason games....and those were all in the 1st game


Once again, you clearly think more or Schobel than most on here. :rolleyes:

[Confused]

I think its still us and the pats in the east. Phavre hasnt played a game in green, the greatest QB ever to play sucked when he left the 'niners, therefore i aint too skeered of them Jets, and Miami needs a hell of alot more than Pennington( I honestly cant beleieve some people have labeled this waste of a helmet a "savior". I mean what the **** has this world come to?) to make the Dolphins any sort of a contender for anything.

Fear mongering HH. thats all this thread is.

[Confused]

I dont wear blinders. Your a miami homer. whats worse?

[mayotm]

The question on the Pats defense is at CB. They haven't replaced Samuel and last year teams threw away from him a lot. Teams are going to look to throw the ball on them outside until they show they can cover.

However, I think their defensive front 7 will be among the best in the NFL, and they are strong up the middle at S.

Richard Seymour is healthy again for the first time in 2 years, and will have a dramatic impact. One of their weaknesses last year was against the run, and I think they will get that shored up with a healthy Seymour and the addition of Mayo. Their DL remains a great strength of the team.

Their LB are going to be deep and strong. They have Vrabel returning on one side, and Thomas will be able to play exclusively outside this year, after being mis-cast at ILB for most of last season. Pierre Woods provides youthful depth, after getting playing time last year. Inside, Bruschi isn't a 3-down player any more but is still solid. Mayo has looked great and will start from day one. Crable will be used as a situational rusher. Victor Hobson has been a disappointment converting to ILB, so I would not be surprised if Seau is brought back at some point. However, John Lynch is playing a ILB-type position in sub packages and will make an impact. The guy can still tackle and is a very smart player, and he will see a lot of time given the Pats usually are playing with a lead.

The secondary is still a work in progress. Harrison, Sanders and Meriweather are a strong group and will make them strong up the middle. At CB, neither Hobbs nor Bryant is a #1 CB, and that will hurt them against the Pats. The rookies Wheatley and Wilhite shows promising skills, but they are typical rookies with up-and-down play. There is talk of Ty Law being brought back, but he isn't the same player he was years ago.

I think they will be a work in progress, but as the year goes along they will improve. I think they will be much stronger against the run, and should pressure the QB better with Seymour back, Thomas playing outside more and Crable helping on passing downs.

As for offense, they will score a bunch of points as long as Brady plays. Without him, they have a big question mark, but they still have the parts to be a great offense.

Overall, I'm pleased with how the preseason has played out. They have been plagued by a lot of nagging injuries, especially on the OL, but seem to have avoided the big injuries. With Matt Light returning for the start of the season I think things will settle down, and they made a nice veteran depth signing with Mike Flynn. I think they will continue to be a strong team as long as Brady plays.Sadly (as a Bills fan), I'm afraid you're right. Some people are getting a little too excited about the Pats poor showing in the pre-season. Unfortunately (again as a Bills fan), I don't think it means a damn thing. Until somebody proves otherwise, the Pats are still the class of the division.

[LtFinFan66]

I dont wear blinders. Your a miami homer. whats worse?Did you think Schobel is awesome like Sue seems to think? Didn't think so:down:

Oh, and I don't believe my comment was meant for you nor did I say you were the homer

[!Papacrunk!]

**WARNING, the following post is very long, and I tend to wear some aqua and orange glasses during different parts of this post.***

Last night the Dolphins beat up on a KC Chiefs team ( a very crappy, but young team.) It was the first time in a really long time that it was actually really fun watching a game. The funny thing is a couple of years ago, who'd thunk that Pennington and Ricky Williams would be solid contributors to the team, lol.

It was fun, because the last couple of games:

the o-line has been doing great and has really come together in the passing game and the run game--Jake Long has been playing like a #1 pick should. Donald Thomas, another rookie starter has been playing well above his 6th round pick spot ( a very great surprise since the guy really hasn't played football for that long, especially since he was a walk-on) Satele has been getting great practice going against DT vet Jason Ferguson and hasn't missed a beat from his great year last year, Smiley has also been a solid acquisition, and Carey is back to his natural RT spot. The best thing is that oldest guy on the line is 28 (I think,lol) ***NJSUE--where exactly have you been getting your info to fuel your opinion?***

Other parts of the offense:

Chad Pennington...after hating the guy, I mean really hating the guy, it's strange cheering him on, but it's getting real hard not to be a fan, and he hasn't really been with the team for that long. The offense has really responded quite well to his leadership, and his arm, the frequent target by many "critics" has been pretty good through these aqua colored glasses. I've read that after his shoulder injuries, this past offseason he has been working on a different throwing techniques to rely on his torso and other parts of his body to deliver more velocity, etc. Old man Bret Favre seems to have some pretty good opinions about Pennington (http://www.profootballtalk.com/2008/08/09/chad-better-than-brett-on-the-long-ball/):

“I think every time I’ve faced Chad, I’ve lost,” Favre said. “He’s played extremely well. . . . In Green Bay a couple of years ago, he played outstanding. I have nothing but the highest regard for Chad. [He is an] extremely bright guy. The knock on him was his arm wasn’t that strong. So what? I can throw it through a wall, but I don’t win every game I play in. It doesn’t matter. He’s very effective.” The other chuckle is that he's been making some plays on his feet to keeps some plays alive. Wow, stills feels weird posting something in support of Pennington. Chad Henne had a shaky game against the Chiefs, but has been showing some great zip with his passes, and some promise for the future.

Ricky Williams...another guy who is weird defending, but I wasn't one of the many that either ripped and or burned his jersey. Some say that you can count on him as much as you can count on Hooters' hotwings being good, but when he is practicing, he's one of the hardest workers on the field. That off the field stuff had been obviously detrimental in the past, lol. He's been playing witha second, wait, a third, no, fourth, well let's say a fifth wind and he looks to be the same size during the glory years, but still shifty, ahem. Ronnie can take his time to get back on the field, and when he does, I can't wait for that tandem to reunite for the regular season. Even the rookie RBs have been pretty good. Not out of this world, but solid at least. It also seems like Boomer Grigsby may supplant the big Hawaiian for the FB position, especially the way he's been hitting on ST.

Receivers. It wasn't looking too good during TC. A lot, not all, of the WRs were dropping the ball left and right. After Pennington came, it's been a big turnaround. Well for everyone except Ernest Willford--the guy that has now dropped to 2nd-3rd string. Unless something changes, this has been the Trifecta's misstep. It seems like the light bulb has come on for Ginn--his routes are getting crisper, making plays over the middle, and still has the speed. I'll have to wait and see what happens w/ Derek Hagan--he's a guy that will light it up during practice/TC, but then be the Unknown Comic during regular season. Davonne Bess, undrafted FA from Hawaii, has been very sure handed so far, very curious to see how he continues to develop. Anthony Armstrong, a Arena Football star has also been giving some great reasons to keep him on the 53 man roster.

The defense.

What has the crack been the last some years--the Senior Citizen Brigade? Like the whole team in general, the defense has gotten younger fast. They do have the old guy in Jason Ferguson, but even w/o my aqua colored glasses, he's been a friggin beast in this 3-4. One nasty dude. Vonnie Holliday is a guy that really doesn't get enough respect, even w/ Jason Taylor mentioning his name anytime Taylor has had past success. As far as that mentioning of youth--Kendall Langford has been another great surprise--a 4th round pick that has found his way to the starting line up. One could say that with a team with a lot of holes, that shouldn't be too tough, but he's the other beast on the line. He's been best friends with a lot of QBs in getting some great pressure. Philip Merling will be behind DE Holliday, but he will be great off the bench until he eventually takes over. The 2nd round steal has been tagging up w/ Langford to pressure those QBs and also be huge against the run. Seeing him put the crunch on Larry Johnson on 4th and goal was great.

Joey Porter has been up and down injury wise, it seems like age is creeping up with him, but didn't stop him from burying Croyle the other night. I really think him and Crowder will really complement each other, and Crowder is in a contract year, and has been playing with some fire and really pumping up the team--not missing a beat from the all time great in Zach Thomas (you know I got to put that in there, lol.) That's another thing--it's been a long time since I've seen such team unity, not just between squads but both offense and defense being fired up together. Everyone has been playing with such vigor it's been quite refreshing.
The secondary has been one of the strongest units as well. Sticking to receivers and also (finally) coming down with some INTs.

ST--the coverage unit has been doing ok, but there's still room for improvement, since the 1st two games, they gave up more yards then desired, but improved last game. The returns have been ok, but they have been experimenting w/ different returners, but when they had Ginn at PR, he shot off a great return TD--that guy is just plain fast. Got rid of steady kicker Jay Feely and going with undrafted FA from Montanna, Dan Carpenter who hasn't missed a FG yet.

Even with my aqua and orange colored glasses, I realize the team will still struggle, but the way they've been playing I think they will surprise some people and if they get to 8-8 then great. I won't complain for anything better, but after last year, it's good to be able to see some positives for a change.

[Confused]

Did you think Schobel is awesome like Sue seems to think? Didn't think so:down:

Oh, and I don't believe my comment was meant for you nor did I say you were the homer

aaron is past his prime. got negged got called a homer in blinders. I was lashing out blindly.