Coach55

80 yard touchdown to Chris Hogan off the Bryce Brown fake.

Since no one else wants to do it... Here you go. Week 8 - Bills @ Jets Win Week 10 - KC @ Buff Win Week 11 - Bills @ Fish Win Week 12 - Jets @ Bills Win Week 13 - Browns @ Bills Win Week 14 - Bills @ Denver Win Week 15 - Packers @ Bills Win Week 16 - Bills @ Oakland Win Week 17 - Bills at NE* Win

This is a very loaded question, as for a lot of young stars, it is too early to tell. Russell Wilson as noted above, could be a great one. He is off to a phenomenal start, but he could quickly blow himself too. One person who was not mentioned above that truly is an arguable candidate is Shane Lechler. Oh and of course - Garrison Sanborn.

Yes - he actually didn't look horrible... which is better than EJ. Is he the answer, probably not. Is EJ the answer, probably not.... wait need to modify the poll.

At this point, I think I am done with Manuel. Tuel actually looked decent in pre-season and given how bad Manuel is doing, I actually wouldn't mind seeing some Tuel time, only if needed.

15-20 carries? Our running backs have ran the ball 94 times over 4 games (23 times a game), of which CJ has gotten 13/game and Fred 8/game. Fred should be getting 15-20 carries per game. I don't care who gets the rest.

Why are people talking about starting Brown over Spiller. The fact of the matter is the best back on this roster, who has been the best back on this roster, is still Fred Jackson. He has been the best offensive player on this roster for the past 7 seasons yet continues to get grief - he's D3, he doesn't have the pedigree, he's too fragile, now he's too old. The guy puts up numbers every play. He runs, he catches, he blocks, he leads. He has sat behind - Anthony Thomas, Marshawn Lynch and CJ Spiller (and now Bryce Brown?). He's in great shape and doesn't play like a 33 year old. Let him play. Let him carry the load. He is the best offensive player on this roster and until some other player can prove otherwise he should be starting and remain starting until his performance sucks.

The spread on the game opened flat and has moved to the Bills being 2.5 pt favorites. This is a direct result of people heavily betting on the Bills. Everytime the spread moves heavily in one direction, oddmakers stand to lose significant money. Don't be surprised if the calls significantly don't go our way this week.

Not Bills related, but watch the JJ Watt one question interview. There is a reason Houston is also 2-0. That is going to be a tough one in a few weeks. http://mmqb.si.com/2014/09/15/monday-morning-qb-nfl-week-2/3/

I am neither for or against Chris Hogan, nor am I for or against Robert Woods, but I would like to make the following assessment - Hogan played all of 1 season of college football at a D-I AA school after playing D-I lacrosse (so I presume he did not get a ton of playing time). He is a specimen of an athlete. In practice and pre-season games, he has been very consistent against 2nd teamers. Could it be the case that he is actually good and has just not been given the proper chance? We all know what Robert Woods is capable of - he started last season and has been well groomed his entire career. Is it implausible to consider that Hogan is a better athlete and over the past 2 years he "learned to play the game" and may better in the future. Think about the following (I am not making comparisons on ability, just the situation): Fred Jackson - had to go through hell just to get a try-out for the NFL and only got to play after a series of injuries. Is he a lot more talented then people with pedigree and grooming - you tell me. Antonio Gates - the guy played basketball in college and had little football skills - all pro? Again, I am not saying that Hogan is either Jackson or Gates, but maybe, just maybe he is better than Woods? But, you would never know unless you give him a shot.

Always like to look at draft predictions: 3rd round - http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=81729&draftyear=2013&genpos=ILB Mel Kiper said we reached - http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2013/4/28/4278476/2013-nfl-draft-grades-mel-kiper-ravens-bills-packers Capable Nickel Linebacker - http://www.nfl.com/draft/2013/profiles/kiko-alonso?id=2539935 3rd Round - http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2013/3/31/4165166/nfl-draft-profile-oregon-linebacker-kiko-alonso 5th ranked ILB - http://walterfootball.com/draft2013ILB.php 5th round - http://edraft.com/nfl/news/2013-nfl-draft-kiko-alonso-scouting-report/

If, for some reason, Robey doesn't make the team. I guarantee you Pettine picks him up within 24 hours of being cut. He is electric.

Disregarding the potential impact to the Bills, no one is commenting on the fact that idiot Donald Sterling just made a colossal amount of money. He is being rewarded for his stupidity.

At the end of the day, one statistic matters - winning. Below is the winning % of the top 15 QBs with over 20,000 career passing yards and number of games started Graham 81.0% 71 Brady 77.5% 191 Staubac 74.6% 114 Montana 71.3% 164 Manning 69.6% 240 Bradshaw 67.7% 158 Roethlesberger 66.9% 142 Rodgers 66.7% 87 Stabler 66.1% 146 Young 65.7% 143 Unitas 64.5% 186 Elway 64.3% 231 Kelly 63.1% 160 The other guys mentioned in the poll, most have too small of a sample size. But its hard to ignore the top 3... Wilson 75.0% 32 Kaepernick 73.9% 23 Luck 68.8% 32 Romo 58.3% 108 Foles 56.3% 16 Smith 55.0% 90 Cutler 53.8% 104 Newton 52.1% 48 Skelton 47.1% 17 Griffin III 42.9% 28 Manuel 40.0% 10 Fitz 35.7% 77 Sorry about the formatting. Couldn't get excel to translate

Gibran Hamdan

KC was lost on one play. The Tuel pick 6 was a 14 point swing. They score there, they go up 17-3, instead are tied at 10. They lose the game by 10.

There is a very simple rationale of why this trade was made. There is no downside risk to Whaley and Marrone to make this trade. At this point, based on the players we have, this team has one major question mark - QB. The rest of the talent is playoff caliber. Sure you have serviceable players - Chandler, Pears, etc, but no real holes in the starting lineup and we should be a playoff bound team... ...IF EJ MANUEL IS A PLAYOFF CALIBER QB. Here is the deal. If EJ wins this season, the Bills win, they are in the playoffs. Whaley looks like a superstar. If EJ is not the real deal and the Bills have a losing record and don't make the playoffs, it wouldn't matter if they had the first round pick or not because Whaley and Marrone won't be here to try again. What risk do they have? No playoffs, no job. They bet the farm on Manuel last year and if doesn't pan out, the front office will be turned over.... yet again.

Hence why we need to Petition them for an exception.

It is now time for Russ and/or the people of Buffalo to petition the NFL to allow for citizens of WNY to own an equity stake in the team similar to Green Bay. It is the only way to assure no future owner moves the team. Assuming there are ~2mm people in the Buffalo/Niagara Falls/Rochester area, I figure it would cost roughly $200 per citizen to obtain enough equity to buy the Bills. This assumes the other $500-600mm would be paid for by the issuance of "Bills Bonds", which should be able to sell with $400mm of equity. I would restrict ownership to those NYS residents west of Syracuse (unfortunately this excludes me personally along with the many former Buffalonians throughout the country), but it would be the only failsafe to prevent some outsider from buying the shares. I presume if the NFL allowed this, you would get a few big shareholders (Rich, Pegula, etc) who would pick up the slack to the extent everyone isn't in. Thoughts?

One person who deserves an honorable mention is Warren Moon. He spent 6 seasons in the CFL prior to joining the NFL where he threw for 21,000 yards, won the Grey Cup 5 times and the MOP twice. Then went on to join the NFL at age 28 and still threw for a tad under 50,000 yards. Yes he never won a super bowl, but he was a 9 time pro-bowler. Had he been given the opportunity to play in the NFL his whole career, his stats would have been off the charts and him, not Marino, would have all of the passing records (that have all since been broken). The guy's career touched into 4 decades.

I think you want to strictly use him in the slot. This would give him the best opportunity for disguised blitzes (which he clearly excels at) and would best utilize his strengths. Besides, he played more than half the snaps this year, so he is clearly getting playing time. His lack of size does hurt him on obvious run downs, so you wouldn't want him on those downs anyway.

Perfect example of why we shouldn't give on Manuel so soon is Drew Brees (I am not saying that Manuel is Drew Brees by any way, shape or form, but a comparison can be made). In recent years, there have been a lot of "NFL ready" quarterbacks coming out of college, but often times NFL QB's take years to develop. Take a look at Brees. His rookie year (late 2nd round pick), he only played 1 game which he didn't start, so let's use his 2nd season as effectively his rookie year. He started 16 games, went 8-8, hitting 60.8% of his passes, 17 TDs, 16 Ints and a passer rating of 76.9 The following season. he went 2-9, hitting 57.6% of his passes, 11TDs, 15 Ints and a passer rating of 67.5 Everyone in San Diego at this point basically threw in the towel and they drafted Philip Rivers. The following year, Brees goes on to the Pro-bowl and has since been there 7 more times and may even be a HOF'er. Manuel's stats are not stellar by any means, but realistically not too far off of Brees's in his first year. 4-6, 58.8%, 11-9 and 77.7. The guy is 23, got thrown to wolves and had to deal with a series of non-serious knee injuries. Give him a full training camp and the keys to the car and see what he can do.

After another week where the Bills found a way to lose despite a valiant effort, it came to me to think - what is the single play from the history of this franchise defines this team. Most people I think would think that the Scott Norwood missed FG may be the defining play in franchise history. However, my thoughts is the below. Helluva an effort, but as it was the end of the half...comes up 3 yards short - all he had to do is run right to the open space... Any other suggestions?

New England's schedule is not a slam dunk. They play Denver next week, who is currently favored by 3. My opinion is this is a loss to NE. Of the 4 remaining games - the key game is MIA which is the lynchpin game, which is in Miami, without this the rest doesn't work. The other game, Baltimore in Baltimore is also a very good possibility for NE to lose. Baltimore has been playing well lately, Ray Rice is healthy and don't forget they did win the Superbowl last year. As for us ending 9-7, we have lost a lot of the key tiebreakers - Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Cleveland. Plus we would only be 6-6 in the AFC.

I wanted to start a new post for this - even though people have one open - as this is the most most realistic and probable shot they make the playoffs... forget the Wild Card - some team will end 10-6. However it is very plausible for the Bills to win the division. See the game schedules below. This is very realistic and very possible. Assuming the Bills run the table ATL – 2-8 @TB – 2-8 @JAX – 1-9 MIA – 5-5 @NE – 7-3 This will make them 9-7 being 4-2 in the division New England’s remaining schedule DEN (9-1) – L @HOU (2-8) – W CLE (4-6) – W @MIA (5-5) – L (this is key) @BAL (4-6) – L (Baltimore is last year’s SB champion) BUF – L This will make them 9-7 being 3-3 in the division Jets remaining Schedule – assuming they win at home and lose on the road @BAL (4-6) - L MIA (5-5) - W OAK (4-6) - W @CAR (7-3) - L CLE (4-6) - W @MIA (5-5) – L This makes them 8-8 being 3-3 in the division Miami remaining Schedule – assuming they win at home and lose on the road CAR (7-3) - W NYJ (5-5) - L @PIT (4-6) - L NE (7-3) - W @BUF - L NYJ (5-5) – W This makes them 8-8 being 2-4 in the division However unlikely this is, if NE ends up 9-6 (assuming 1 of the 3 losses are to MIA) and the Bills 8-7, the last game of the season could be for the division. Interesting thing about it is that as long as MIA and the Jets split, they both could end 9-7 and the Bills would win a 4 way tie.