Are you concerned about the openner?

[ghz in pittsburgh]

Two reasons:

1) the Texans under Caper have shown that they always played great on openning day, especially on the road. Caper, given time, can do a lot of creative things and he has a lot of time for the 1st game of the season. Remember that they use 3-4 defense and the Bills were dismal against 3-4 defense in the last few years. If they can neutralize the Bills' ground attack, they can throw a ton of looks at Losman.

2) the expectation on the Bills. Naturally everyone expects the Bills to win this openner. That's a lot of pressure for a first year starting QB. If someone needs to confuse a first time QB with inevitable jittery, they cannot find a better guy than Caper and his 3-4.

The Bills defense must come up big this game for us to win. Should we fall behind early, it would be an ugly day.

[Sportsuser101]

The Texans are a good team and should not be overlooked but I think we should beat them.

[Ebenezer]

I am concerned about all 16 games...right now, as constructed, this team is not as good as last year's...

no proof that:
1. the tandem of Edwards and Anderson can take over for Pat Williams
2. there is adequate replacement for Jennings
3. Losman will be able to play to Bledsoe's level (mediocre as it may have been)

the schedule is harder and other teams have gotten better.

[Jeff1220]

I could see the Texans battling for their division in December. They will be a good, balanced team.

[OpIv37]

The Texans scare me, but Carr is unpredictable and will struggle against our D. It's ours to lose.

[DaBillzAhDaShiznit]

Yes, I am concerned, but just as Caper has more than 4 months to prepare, so does our coaching staff. Mularkey is going to prove himself as a coach this year. Now he has a handle on the organization and can concentrate more on coaching/gameplanning.

It won't be an easy game....and the Texans have a lot to prove too....it will come down to two things---home field advantage and which team is more focused.

I think it's a great matchup of two up and coming teams...it will be an exciting game.

[don137]

In the league of parity no team can take any team lightly. The big advantage is JP's first game will be at home rather than on the road. Big difference when breaking your cherry as a starting QB in the NFL at home than on the road.

[Ebenezer]

In the league of parity no team can take any team lightly. The big advantage is JP's first game will be at home rather than on the road. Big difference when breaking your cherry as a starting QB in the NFL at home than on the road.
yeah...but this is Buffalo...most of the stadium will roast him alive if he goes out there and looks like RJ or DB.

[Spielmanrules54]

To be honest there are NO gimmes on the schedule this year.... every week will be a battle... I have to be a homer though and say we're gonna win the opener man... JP's probably studying their defense right now... screw it, let's start the season the week after the draft... I'm so ready man!

[jamze132]

I have high expectations for us this year and expect to be in the playoffs. But as long as we kick the crap out of the Dolphins, I'm cool.

[don137]

yeah...but this is Buffalo...most of the stadium will roast him alive if he goes out there and looks like RJ or DB.

I'd like to think the fans would be patient with him early on but I hear what you are saying. I remember back in '96 and I think Kelly often heard more boos in a game than cheers. I still rather have the opening game of the 2005 season be at home.

[jaja54]

I have high expectations for us this year and expect to be in the playoffs. But as long as we kick the crap out of the Dolphins, I'm cool.
You better hope you can beat the Dolphins.... they may be the only team in the division that you do in fact have a victory over next year. Especially if Losman turns out to be less than what you are hoping for.

As far as the opening game against the Texans.... they get better every year except that this year they have done nothing in FA. They signed Morlon Greenwood from Miami and lost Jamie Sharper. So, I think they end up on the short end of the stick there. I think the Bills should be able to beat them on opening day.

[Jayhawk]

I am concerned, but not too bad, it should be a good game.

[Billscusey]

yeah...but this is Buffalo...most of the stadium will roast him alive if he goes out there and looks like RJ or DB.
Truer words were never spoken! The Ralph can be as much a curse as it can be a blessing, I'm afraid!

[LifetimeBillsFan]

I agree with Ebenezer in that the way the league is now, you have to be concerned about all 16 games. And, especially so when you are starting an inexperienced QB.

And, there's no doubt in my mind that the Texans aren't going to be pushovers. Dom Capers is a good HC and his team has been steadily improving every year. They can play with the Bills if D.Carr plays well.

Still, there are a couple of reasons why I think the Bills should be able to do well enough against them: 1.) Their defense is not particularly strong against the run and the Bills are going to run the ball a lot to take the pressure off of JP in his first start; 2.) D.Carr can be inconsistent; 3.) The game is in Buffalo and the Bills, as a team, will be psyched up by the crowd--which should give them an advantage.

I know that the crowd at The Ralph can be tough and that Bills fans are expecting a lot from JP--especially the way that they have felt let down by Bledsoe and are so eagerly anticipating a new era at QB. But, I also think that the crowd will be very supportive of the Bills and JP--especially at the beginning of the game--which should make it easier for him to handle the initial "jitters" that you know he will be feeling as he starts his first NFL game. I think that being at home will make those first few plays a lot easier for him than they would be on the road.

I would also think--hope and expect--that, as tough as they are, Bills fans--in general and those who will be at the game--are smart enough and sophisticated enough to realize that this is going to be JP's first game and first season and that he is going to make some dumb mistakes during the course of games--that is the part of the process that every NFL QB goes through (J.Elway was so bad in his first start that he was pulled at halftime and he ended up being a pretty fair starting QB later on in his career!)--and, as a result, they will be patient with JP when he makes those mistakes this season. While they might have booed a veteran Jim Kelly when he made mistakes that a veteran QB shouldn't make and got on RJ, who, unlike Losman, made it clear that he didn't like Buffalo and made no effort to spend any more time than he had to there, after he continued to make the same mistakes over and over again, I don't think that they would be stupid enough to boo JP for making mistakes in his very first game as a starter--especially not early in the game when he will need their support to build his confidence or if he offsets those mistakes by making some good plays that show the crowd that he has the ability to be a good NFL QB once he gets some experience. I think that the crowd will want to support him--certainly at the beginning of the game--and won't be too hard on him, unless he pulls a BillyJoe Hobert. And, that should help him out a lot and give him a bit of an edge that he wouldn't have if his first game was on the road.

I think the Bills' coaching staff will try to take some of the pressure off of JP by trying to run the ball as much as possible. If the Bills are able to run the ball successfully--and they should be able to do so, this is a game that the Bills have a very good chance to win even though Capers will have had plenty of time to work on defensive schemes to confuse JP. I would not be surprised if the game plan was quite similar to the one the Bills used in their opener against Jacksonville last season--very conservative. The Houston run defense is not nearly as good as the Jags' D, so, if the Bills D does it's job, I would expect the outcome to be better for the Bills this time around.

Still, it's not going to be a "gimme"--the Bills are going to have to earn the "W" because the Texans are not a bad team.

[ryjam282]

I don't think the Texans have ever lost a home opener...Have they? Not under Caper.