WhitewalkerInPhilly

Nice. It was a good article to read. And now to get into the muck... I remember before last year's draft, the biggest comparison of EJ to anyone in the 2012 draft was Ryan Tannehill: big, good arm, and needing polish. I know that trying to liken anything the Bills do to the Dolphins is heresy, but bear with me for a moment. The first year, Tannehill had a number of streaks, for good or ill. He would be great for a few games, and then be awful for a stretch. Sounds like anyone we know? This year the Dolphins went out and got targets for their young quarterback and with them, Tannehill improved quite a bit. They went 3-0 to start, and even with the Martin/Incognito debacle that left their O-line in shambles they still managed to beat the Patriots and were playoff contenders. I know that we can't simply assume the same thing, and I'm not here promising that EJ will become a franchise great but I'm excited to see what he can do with a full, healthy offseason to work on the timing with Stevie, Woods and Goodwin (and hopefully a great, dynamic TE).

Like everyone else says, that's a pretty damn big "if" If the franchise tag is an option, I would be shocked, stunned, gobsmacked if the Saints didn't franchise tag him and burn half the roster to keep him. That said, if he by some miracle becomes available, the Bills have some cap room, and I would trade out Chandler for him in a heartbeat. Pitta would be a great option!

I would be happy in repeating our drafting strategy from last year. The Bills have had great luck with 2nd round picks in recent years: Aaron Williams is settling in nicely at safety. Glenn has been very solid at LT, Woods has been great, and Kiko has been a revelation. The I think there's a lot of talent for LG and TE in the second round, which is where I would prefer the Bills take them. Ehh, for me, the LB would have to be a real monster that could be anywhere on LB spot. Bradham is the weakest link in our front 7, and that's saying something. I think it's an issue we can resolve affordably in free agency, a la Manny Lawson. For me, I would like to see WR/TE at #9 or lower (no trading up), OG or whichever we don't choose in round 1, and TE or OG in round 3.

How is our run defense this bad?

Ok, I think we need to fire out ST coach. I can't stand another of those returns.

rg3 anyone?

i would imagine robey. we really don't have a better choice for covering the slot, though i guess brooks could do in a pinch.

I've Never Understood it either. i suppose i should qualify myself: Are you talking about getting a really great will linebacker? If so, i can imagine that it would be a great aquisition, as bradham is probably the weakest link in our front 7.we had a lot of catches over the middle on third and long, so getting a great lb/s hybrid would be nice. but what i'm always hearing is a demand is for a pass rushing outside linebacker, as if mario and hughes weren't combining for 23 sacks so far. lawson might not set your world on fire, but he's great for setting the edge on runs. at this point, we have reasonable options at very reasonable prices at strongside linebacker. offense worries me more.

I Think It's fair to say they should be a factor. sadly we seem to be missing aaron williams, who has surprised me, but i thinks it's fair to say that two best db's will be back.

I haven't seen a lot of this mentioned around, but I'm really stoked to see how the defense plays this time out. Gronk is out again, so that's one matchup I was worried about not happening. Amendola beat us in the slot last time, but I want to see Robey matched up now that he's got some experience. Meanwhile, the CB corps is now refreshed. Gilmore is back and working, while McKelvin has made a huge leap forward. Byrd is back too. Meanwhile, the Patriots O-line is dinged up. I'm just hoping that, even if the Bills lose, that it ends with them putting a clinic on how to shut down Brady.

I haven't seen a lot of this mentioned around, but I'm really stoked to see how the defense plays this time out. Gronk is out again, so that's one matchup I was worried about not happening. Amendola beat us in the slot last time, but I want to see Robey matched up now that he's got some experience. Meanwhile, the CB corps is now refreshed. Gilmore is back and working, while McKelvin has made a huge leap forward. Byrd is back too. Meanwhile, the Patriots O-line is dinged up. I'm just hoping that, even if the Bills lose, that it ends with them putting a clinic on how to shut down Brady.

It's hard to say what kind of outcome I want. If EJ were playing, I would yell and scream to win, to give him one more shot to see what we have with him. With Thad playing...a win ignites a firestorm about who should be starting, and a loss gives us a better draft pick but tells us absolutely nothing about our status at QB. However, I *will* be eagerly watching the defense. This is as close to fully healthy and clicking the Bills have been on defense in a while: Gilmore and McKelvin are back, seeming like a surprisingly good CB tandem. Robey has gotten bloodied, and I am curious to see him against Amendola again. With the Patriots' O-line dinged up, I want to see Mario, Hughes, Kyle and Dareus going full steam. In the end...I don't know, but if the end result is an absolute beating on Brady that wears him down for when the playoffs start (and if this slides the Pats to the #3 seed) I would be happy.

I'm hoping so too. I do wonder if Evans might be converted to TE, since he's a pretty big WR. While I would like a big, tall, heavy and fast WR in the Megatron mold, I think the Bills have a decent amount of talent in Stevie, Woods and Goodwin. Chandler is our only decent tight end, and he is hardly a game breaker. He had a number of drops, is pretty slow, and is coming off a contract season. He seems like a ripe candidate to go. Then, I would take a guard in the second round. I really don't get the insistence that we go for a tackle, and try to convert him to a guard. We managed to get Glenn in the second round two years ago, so I'm pretty sure we can find someone then.

OK. while we're piling on the troll (deservedly):he has something of a point: I don't want Marrone pleased with the result of this season. I want him to keep that frustration burning all offseason as he plans for next year. I want him interviewing people to change out some of the coaching staff, looking through prospective free agents, looking through film on draft prospects. The Colts had a fire sale the year they released Manning, cutting a lot of their veterans. They have now made the playoffs two years in a row. This year, the Chiefs got a brand new head coach, brought in a QB that people said was mediocre to good and then built a dominating team. Marrone isn't making excuses and 6-10 or 7-9 is about or better what national media expectations were. I just wish we'd defied them for once.

Kiko got robbed.

I think the big reason for the stink is that Parker is his agent, and the Bills just hired an alternative. The man had a lot of bad luck with all the scheme changes, and I think that his role as a tweener DT/DE is good if Pettine wants to gradually increase the complexity of the offense. I would like to see him back, and competing with Branch for the starting job. I wouldn't overpay him. Fortunately, due to his bumpy ride I don't think he'll get as much money anywhere else.

I hope. And the less leverage Parker has, the better The man doesn't have the sexiest of positions, and if Carrington is ready to go I think its a tough call as to who should be playing, but the man has done a great job as a gap plugger. It also convinces me that we aren't going to try to fill the spot with a draft pick, which is a load off my mind. I would love to see that. He's always had bad luck with system changes, and he was finally in one that looked to suit his unique talents before he got hurt. I would love to see a full, healthy squad and an extra year to get used to the system.

It tells us that we won yesterday. Ok, that's a little tongue in cheek. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled. The defense finally looked like what we were dreaming it to be all last season. I keep telling myself that a big upgrade at Will LB (maybe, MAYBE, at DE where we have Branch and Carrington, in the last year of their contracts) and we could have an elite defensive unit. But as the old saying goes, "The best defense is a good offense" and that most certainly remains up for debate.

If we were actually in the thick of things, I would agree. But I remember Stevie getting benched for a while two years ago because he was a bit over the top on celebrations. Dareus got benched for a quarter yesterday because he was habitually late for team meetings. Using that scale, how do we rate punching someone on the field? Especially for a game where all we're playing for is pride?

Alright, it was stupid. There's no excuse, and if I'm Marrone, I wouldn't be surprised if he gets benched for the final game to send a message. I hope it's not going to be an issue in the future, or that he gets suspended for any time next season.

Honestly, this is a good point for me. His durability is a bit of a concern for me as well, and it really has slowed down his growth. Look, I like EJ. We've seen that he *can* be good. He absolutely shredded the Jets (an elite Defense), played well against Atlanta and showed he could snap back on the round in the game against the Jaguars. But if he is going to be missing half the games each year to injury, I would really like to start developing someone with a bit more of an upside than Thad or Tuel. Best case scenario, we wind up like the Chargers: Drew Brees and Phillip Rivers on the roster. They say that a team with two quarterbacks has none, but tell that to the Packers (who lost Aaron Rodgers, and were in free fall until Flynn came back), the 49'ers (who last year started Alex Smith, and went to the Super Bowl with Kaep), and most importantly, the Eagles. The Eagles are a fantastic case. Vick looked amazing in preseason and to start before the Eagles tanked. Nick Foles went in, and had one of the worst games that could be played against the Cowboys, and now has come back to blossom into a pretty damn good quarterback. When Quarterback in so important a position, I don't see as much as a problem to overload it. Unlike, say, drafting YET ANOTHER pass rusher, as many people keep predicting.

I would. I am comforted by the fact that McShay is so completely wrongheaded most of the time that his prediction is almost assuring that we won't do it. We don't need another tackle. The area we need to improve on the O-line isn't the tackles, it's at guard. You typically want someone shorter and a bit heavier to really power up the middle. And I think we can get solid talent at the position in the second round.

I wouldn't say DROY, but the Bills got immense value for an undrafted free agent.

Yeah, because of the most polished route runners, and one of the best rookie WR's in the league ought to be cut because he *gasp* took off his helmet after getting knocked, which at most would have resulted in a penalty on a kickoff. It's not like Stevie has ever done anything that could have potentially had the same effect.

If EJ sprained his knee, and still lead the game winning touchdown drive...well, I won't complain.