Punch

It's interesting to note that Sully's piece was first "published" to the Buffalo News' website last night at 11:12pm. Is it possible he was not aware of Nix's availability for today or that the piece was written prior to 6pm and published by a BN web staffer? I'm not faulting Jerry Sullivan, just curious (I realize it would be pretty difficult to expect a columnist to completely rewrite a column when facing a deadline when his point would still remain valid at the time of publication).

Chris Johnson has struggled quite a bit this year, possibly due to the incredibly heavy workload he carried in 2009. There's no reason, however, that Clifford can't be the feature back--- he just doesn't need to, and shouldn't, be touching the ball 400-450 times per year. I also think he's much more talented and versatile than Reggie Bush.

In light of this revelation the Kelsay thing makes a lot more sense, and it's in line with comments from poster DIE HARD 1967. He's a good player only in the sense that he's a hard worker and a team leader in the lockerroom. Not to mention he's not literally getting $6 million/yr but something more like $2-3.5 million/yr, which is much more palatable for what he offers.

When I saw this thread title I swear to god I thought it was inferring that Jerry Sullivan was dead.

Bill Parcells has inferred that he's not really interested in retiring just now that he's stepped down from the Miami job--- would you be excited if he came to Buffalo as President and head of football operations? I'm all for improving the offensive line sooner rather than later but making that trade would have been more of the same ills that have plagued the Bills for years instead of moving forward, responsibly. The Redskins are still making the same mistakes they've made since Snyder bought the team, and the moves made this past off season will probably result in a 7-9 record and no long term future.

I'll say this--- you sound completely crazy. The Philadelphia sports media unanimously feels that the catastrophic results of the Jason Peters trade could cost Andy Reid his job, and yet here you are defending the oft injured Eagles LT (a team leader only in accrued penalties, for both 2009 and also so far in 2010) to the last. You're like the legendary "band playing on" from the Titanic. It's commendable, really. I just don't understand why you're so angry about it on a message board. Nobody really cares if you're right or wrong or pleased or mournful about it.

I can't argue with this at all, although Belichick does like to fluff our players a bit. I truly wish the Peters of 2006 continued to work hard and become a team leader. I saw some highlights from JP's first start on opening day against Houston in 2005 and had totally forgotten that Peters lined up as a tackle eligible and caught Losman's 1st TD. He was a great athlete, all around.

Successfully? I'm a longtime lurker so I'm well aware of your numerous rants on the subject. Considering you haven't exactly swayed anyone to the dark side I find your claims of success highly dubious. HOWEVER, I am curious what you and the gurus at profootballfocus think of the criticisms he's currently facing in Philadelphia--- how can you spin it? He's being roasted by the media, the fans, and there are whispers in the lockerroom that he's not exactly a team player, which sounds pretty familiar to people in Buffalo.

Ha! How often has this happened in NFL history if ever? And just after week 4, no less.

I know people will still try, but I no longer think it's even remotely possible to deride the Peters trade--- except Eagles fans, of course

I bet Wood will move to center as soon as he can play every series--- he's still being spelled quite a bit each week. Plus, I don't know how many reps he's getting there in practice now, but he was getting quite a few during training camp.

Marshawn certainly came across as likable early on, so I don't doubt the other guys on the team liked him. A lot of times if a player's attitude is a negative influence on the team it isn't always evident to the players until he's gone, so it's up to the coaches to weed them out. I'm not sure if that's the case here, but it could be. The players genuinely like and vigorously defended Jauron, but now that he's gone I think they realize how bad they had it. Dickie J. was such a thug!

He was in the prepackaged Madden '11 prior to the recent roster updates. I signed him as a free agent and then cut him.

It's amazing how low the line quality has sunk that some have fond memories of Brad Butler. He was serviceable and all but he certainly weren't no Corbin Lacina!

I'm not suggesting he'll be over the hill at 30, but the Bills simply won't be an OT away from competing this year or next year. They cannot realistically invest $10 million/year for the next 3 years as they muddle through a major rebuilding project. If he were 26 or so, then that would be a worthwhile and realistic investment for the future stability of the offensive line. I agree wholeheartedly in regards to musical chairs style roster moves being detrimental and utterly destructive to properly building a team; but I think committing a boatload of money to a 29 year old OT when they are first tearing everything down prior to building it back up correctly would be exactly that--- musical chairs.

He's 29 now, but how old will he be when the Bills can make good use of him? They likely won't be competing for a playoff spot next year, either, even if they make a big jump.

If the Bills hadn't made so many mind numbingly head scratching roster moves and draft picks in the previous 5 years they wouldn't even have been in a position to take Whitner at 8 nor need to trade up for a reach DT. That's what makes all of these disasters worse--- each hot mess is really just piled on top of the previous one. Now the organization is buried in it and the digging out process is going to take awhile. Word, W-Byrd.

It's a shame Green Bay didn't pony up for him--- I'm sure he would've racked up a ton of fantasy points there! If he did become a Packer I was going to start planning my championship parade. I'm still amazed that I have the luxury of keeping both Lynch and Vincent Jackson on my bench, but my starting group and other reserves are pretty strong. If only the real Bills were good enough that I wouldn't care a lick about fantasy football.

Even when his brief tenure in the "minors" is taken into account, he's probably remarkably fresh. 1 year in NFL Europa and 2 in the United Indoor Football league are not equivalent to even 3 part-time NFL seasons. Fred should be good for at least 3 more years of good productivity if he is not ridden into the ground. I'm sure he was aware of the possibility of Lynch being moved since the offseason. But he's certainly a man in a league full of boys, maturity wise.

Of course. I didn't want him either, but he's here now. If this rebuilding process takes more than a year the Bills would be wise to at least be patient with him. We can't just trade away or unceremoniously dump our 1st round picks

A pile is exactly what comes to mind when I think of Kelsay's play on the field...

I had him on my ff bench in case of a trade, but I was planning on waiting to see how he'll be used before I start him. Even if he's Seattle's #1 RB their offense isn't exactly going gangbusters, with so many injuries on the offensive line, so he may not be all that valuable.

He's paying attention to the box scores. If Donte is putting up big tackle numbers it's because he's doing it downfield after our front 7 collectively whiffed or after he piles on. Kelsay is our leader in solo tackles (though it's a particularly weak figure) for no other reason than the fact he is targeted repeatedly by the opposing offense. Kelsay and Whitner may lead the team in solo and total tackles respectively but they also lead the league in embarrassing whiffs. Being targeted so often they're bound to snag a few in the process.

Wow. Extend him, indefinitely.

He may not have caught any passes, but he is certainly responsible for drawing coverage away from the other targets. One reason Danny Woodhead was so open and the middle of the field was cleared out on his TD catch Monday Night is because both Moss and Welker were double covered. Don Maynard didn't catch a pass in Super Bowl III but his ability to draw deep coverage is as big a reason the Jets won that game as anything else. Having said that, I'm sure the Pats can find a way to win without Moss. But his contribution was not insignificant.