Sports Writer Says We'll Go 7-9 and Finish 3rd in Division

[muestafa1]

http://sports.excite.com/news/08282003/v3507.html

This guy from the AP predicted Buffalo will do worse than last year. He talks about all the great additions New England has made but when it gets time to talking about Buffalo he says:

The Bills struggled on defense, so they shored it up by acquiring linebackers Takeo Spikes and Jeff Posey. Spikes would have been a Pro Bowler several times had he not been buried in Cincinnati, and Posey had a breakout season in Houston.

But teams that make dramatic moves often flatten out the next season. Bledsoe's two worst games last season were losses to New England.



So how come New England's pickups are the best thing since sliced bread, but our pickups will cause us to flatten out this year???

Give me a break! :hammeru:

His Predictions: 1. New England (11-5); 2. Miami (9-7); 3. Buffalo (7-9); 4. New York Jets (5-11).

[venis2k1]

i hate idiots.

[JefftheBillsfan]

ya, i remember the year before when we made big additions...those sure flattened us out huh? we only increased our win total by 5. geez.

[Captain gameboy]

I'm feeling flatter already.

[Billz_fan]

Wys wrote the article :D

[lordofgun]

I like idiots. They make me feel even smarter. :D

[MDFINFAN]

See, when writers don't pick you guys, you go nuts too..LOL

[Jan Reimers]

We all know that Colvin was the premier pickup of the offseason, way better than Spikes.

[TedMock]

Originally posted by Jan Reimers
We all know that Colvin was the premier pickup of the offseason, way better than Spikes.

Two totally different styles. Don't get me wrong, Colvin's a great pass rushing linebacker but I'd say Spikes is the overall better LB. He's a WLB so he won't produce the sacks that Colvin will at SLB but Spikes is faster and will account for way more tackles than Colvin. Spikes has 567 career tackles and Colvin's under 200. I think around 180. Colvin has played one less season but even so it's not close. Again, they play different positions so it's a tough call but I still think Spikes is the better overall player.

[Novacane]

Originally posted by MDFINFAN
See, when writers don't pick you guys, you go nuts too..LOL



And finfans don't. :eek:

I could care less what so called "media experts" predict. They are almost always wrong so it is better not to be picked by them

[Judge]

Originally posted by TedMock


Two totally different styles. Don't get me wrong, Colvin's a great pass rushing linebacker but I'd say Spikes is the overall better LB. He's a WLB so he won't produce the sacks that Colvin will at SLB but Spikes is faster and will account for way more tackles than Colvin. Spikes has 567 career tackles and Colvin's under 200. I think around 180. Colvin has played one less season but even so it's not close. Again, they play different positions so it's a tough call but I still think Spikes is the better overall player.

Well said.

[Jan Reimers]

Originally posted by TedMock
Two totally different styles. Don't get me wrong, Colvin's a great pass rushing linebacker but I'd say Spikes is the overall better LB. He's a WLB so he won't produce the sacks that Colvin will at SLB but Spikes is faster and will account for way more tackles than Colvin. Spikes has 567 career tackles and Colvin's under 200. I think around 180. Colvin has played one less season but even so it's not close. Again, they play different positions so it's a tough call but I still think Spikes is the better overall player.

Guys, I was being sarcastic. I like Spikes much more than Colvin.

[BillsMan80]

If it makes anyone feel better, both SI and the Sporting News picked us to go to the playoffs.

[Ickybaluky]

I don't know if it is fair to compare the 2 players, they aren't playing similar positions. First of all, tackles are not an official stat, they vary widely from team-to-team. Second, Spikes played middle LB his first 2 seasons, and has always been a run-first position. Thus, he doesn't get the same opportunities to rush the passer.

They are both very good players.

[The Spaz]

Tackles isn't an official stat? What goes on when you try to bring downs the ball carrier, what is is called again dang I forget....lol:)!

[hwc]

Originally posted by muestafa1
So how come New England's pickups are the best thing since sliced bread, but our pickups will cause us to flatten out this year???

The Pats didn't lose anybody from last year's team, except for trading Tebucky Jones and upgrading the position with Rodney Harrison. So they've got everybody back PLUS R. Colvin, Ted Washington, a 1st round DE, more speed at corner, more depth at WR, and a pass catching fullback.

The Bills certainly upgraded their linebacker corps, but they also lost Peerless Price and two veteran possession receivers in Centers and Reimersma.

The key to the AFC East will be the division games. Those will go a long way towards overall records and eventual tiebreakers. Unfortunately for the Bills, they don't seem to matchup well against the Pats, mostly because Bledsoe's downfield passing game plays into the strengths of a Belichick defense.

[Stewie]

There's no way Rodney Harrison is an upgrade over tebucky jones.. He's old and hits hard and thats about it

[DD]

And you are lucky that Chad Pennington got hurt or it would be LAST place

[hwc]

Originally posted by paulB
There's no way Rodney Harrison is an upgrade over tebucky jones.. He's old and hits hard and thats about it

Tebucky Jones had a disappointing season for the Pats last year. He was involved in two long TD passes down the middle where he took his own teammate out of the play by hitting the wrong guy. In at least one case, the defender was in position to make a play on the ball until Tebucky leveled him.

He missed a lot of tackles. His worst performance of the year came in a key game against the Titans when his only job was spying Steve McNair when he ran the ball. Tebuckly looked like a matador out there, whiffing on most plays and failing to wrap up when he did make contact. For all of his physical skills and speed, Tebucky never really showed good football instincts, which is why he was only a part-time safety for the Pats and why they weren't interested in paying him Pro Bowl money.

Rodney Harrison has been a very productive safety in the NFL. Not the quickest guy around, but a proven veteran who is healthy again after playing last year with torn hamstring. An upgrade over either Tebucky Jones or Victor Green, particularly in run support which was the Pats biggest weakness last season. I don't consider the safety tandem of Pro Bowlers Lawyer Milloy and Rodney Harrison a liability on the Pats defense.

There are two question marks on the Pats defense. Can they stop the run? And can the two rookie corners continue to play as well as they have in preseason? I feel much better about the running defense with the acquistion of widebody Ted Washington. The rookie corners look really good, but I'm sure that they will get tested. Belichick must feel pretty good about them or he wouldn't have cut the Super Bowl starter Otis Smith -- a big surprise to most Pats fans.

[Jan Reimers]

Tackle statistics may vary, but I submit that they are fairly important to your defensive success. Like, if you don't make them, the other team scores almost everytime they touch the ball.

[The_Philster]

Originally posted by Billz_fan
Wys wrote the article :D
He couldn't have...it was too short. :D

[BillsOwnAll]

you cant predict.......you just cant! anything can happen. i never listen to them....i look at espn's PR alot though. cuase they give reasons why or why not wellbe good.