WhitewalkerInPhilly

I agree. There's no doubt that I would prefer Manuel to win, but unless he legitimately wins the job the locker room might become toxic. However, at the current rate of advancement, I think there's a chance he can adapt to the offense to diagnose it about the same as Kolb with his enhanced arm and running ability. We...will see though.

I really don't get the argument. Marrone has flat out stated that Manuel has been seeing easier defenses to start with. Like, you know, you would do with someone who has zero NFL experience. The big justification of Kolb starting is that he ought to have the experience to deal with being rushed, the level of speed in pro games and diagnosing complex defensive schemes, so it makes sense for him to start at that level. Manuel seemed to ace the basic D, and now they're starting to break him into the more complex schemes. Marrone probably wants Manuel to start. But he has said that if Manuel wants the job, he has to win it. Kolb is still getting the lion's share of the reps overall, and the lions share of the 1st team. He's in the league, and better hang on tight.

I think this is a good sign of progress from TJ and the rookies. I've been holding out hope that Da'Rick would prove himself in camp, and be places as a starter on the outside...or even placing him there for 3 WR sets to let Stevie work the middle. With TJ apparently impressing with his ability to just sprint past CB's, that gives him a way to stretch the field, Da'Rick is in the Randy Moss mold, and Goodwin can tear the middle and do reverses as a gadget player and Woods is heir apparent to Stevie. This looks like the most talented 5 WR that we've had on the team in a long time.

I think I need to keep this as a quote: Marrone-"‘I believe you throw to score and run to win.‘’

Considering the competition at the #2 CB and the concern about Byrd, picking up another camp body doesn't sound too surprising.

Listening to him in the interview, I feel like he has basic the concept down. From what I can tell, what Hackett has him doing is beautifully simple: Option 1, option 2, then dump to spiller or Freddy on a screen. He'll probably work up to a few more as time goes on. I do want to start seeing more of those exotic blitzes that Pettine has been throwing at Kolb and see how he handles it. But man, that is still one beautiful spiral.

You know, after the last three days, I really can't tell if you're joking or not. I'm secretly kind of hoping that Marrone hulks out at one point. "MARRONE SMASH PUNY REPORTER!"

No need to get snippy. And my relationship with my tissue box is private

Heh, either way it could be a full contact sport I was being slightly hyperbolic, but I really am getting excited and I need my fix.

I'm currently 6 months without football. I must look like an afterschool special on the dangers of freebase.

Oh? Please post that link!

It actually means a lot hearing things from outsiders. Locals (ourselves included) tend to need a heavy dose of skepticism when hearing good news after getting burned for 13 years straight.

I've been thinking this! TJ seems to have having a lot of chemistry with EJ, and Woods has the size and blocking skill to be great as a slot receiver. With Chandler and Spiller in play, we could run a whole host of plays really effectively. It's interesting to note that the OL is looking gassed. They're really going to need to get into shape if the plan is to keep with this up tempo offense. Any notes on who is standing out at QB?

This is great to see Thanks for mentioning EJ's fumble and overthrows, they weren't mentioned in the highlights. Still, listening to talk, and some of the highlights it does look like he's showing why he was drafted so high.

It would be nice if he made it, and finally lived up to what we were hoping. I'm not counting on it of course, but it would be good to finally see it in play, especially considering his body size makes him a really nice fit to have a prototypical Nose Tackle. Even with all my skepticism, a small part of me would love to see Dareus, Carrington and Troup to all come alive on defense along with decent rookie outings from Manuel, Woods and Rodgers.

I'll say this: there is very much a financial incentive for Byrd to come back for week 1, as opposed to training camp. Veterans get paid ~$1700 per week of camp. This is in comparison to the $406,823.53 he'd be making per game. It costs Byrd very little, and is the most leverage Parker can manage before his client really starts cutting off his nose to spite his face.

I've played around with a few, but last offseason someone at Bleacher Report wrote a joke article about the 2012 NFL season if it was written by George R.R. Martin. In it, Shawn Merriman is one of the Whitewalkers. It's getting a little old, but we'll see...maybe a King in the North reference, considering how last season went...

You know, while the honeymoon is still ongoing with Marrone, I think we might have been ok with picking up Pettine instead. Of course, he probably wouldn't have wanted Manuel so early, so it's kind of hard to say. I do worry a little that if he does a really amazing job we might lose him when offered a spot for another team...of course, that would mean that the Bills are doing really well. I may take that. I sometimes like to bet against what I want to happen. MOW 'EM DOWN! Fair point, though I am going to give Pettine the benefit of the doubt for now. I'm happy about Bradham returning, and a big fan for swapping out Sheppard and Barnett for Alonso and Lawson. Mario was decent against runs to the outside last year. Whether this is an appreciable increase in talent, or if the scheme is sufficient to stop the run...I don't know. But I'm excited to see.

Oi vey...it feels like a waste, but I'm not shedding too many tears. To be honest, edge rusher is looking kind of stacked these days, and it looks like we can the same or better production out of some of the younger, cheaper guys so I'm not shedding any tears. Hairston being gone, however, is a bit disturbed.

I can respect the issue of getting injured in a franchise tag year...which is why I have even less respect for Parker. It's in his best interests to do what is best for his client, not leave him in the lurch because he feels he can add one million more a year. Of course, there is another question: what is Byrd sits out for the maximum amount of time, but gets hurt his first week back because he hasn't gone through conditioning? He'd have given up half a year of guaranteed salary, only to know that he's getting much less in this round of negotiations.

I'm a little shocked, considering the Patriot's situation at receiver. After losing Welker, Lloyd, Hernandez and Woodhead, and with Gronk possibly on PUP would have figured there were desperate. Hell, I would even say that the Bills have more talent in their receiving corps.

"It's going to be War."-Doug Marrone Ok, I think we finally have the right attitude going into the season. I'm a little surprised that he doesn't feel Rodgers will contribute much this season, but there is a big difference between "Immediate impact season 1" and "Talented player who needs more time to develop" so I would be ok with the latter.

I'm not sure if I adaquately phrased this...I severely doubt that such an event will occur. The Bills do have options, now, even if Byrd is still the best player. unless safety is the one position that makes the defense not work and top 5 money sounds entirly fair consideing what we've seen from the man.

I think there also is a very real question of 'will this equal a holdout'? the truth is, if Byrd wants the big bucks, it behooves him to sign the tender. Parker wants his client to be the best paid free safety in the league, and at this point the bills don't think he's worth that much. If he wants to shop for another team to pay that much, he's going to have to prove he's the next Ed Reed or Eric Berry. Byrd has been on one of the worst defenses in the league most of his career, so if he wants the money, he'd better hope Pettine is good enough to turn a talented group of underachievers into a top 5 unit. What's the other option, sit out, lose half your money and pray the defense is so bad that your presence is the only thing that can turn it around?

They probably have other things they're talking about right now... But I agree, suddenly that game is looking like a contest. Look at their top receivers from last year in order: Welker? Gone. Lloyd? Gone. Gronk? On his fourth surgery and questionable to play week one, never mind at full strength. Hernandez? Released and likely still in jail. Woodhead? Gone. Their two free agency pickups at WR have been Amendola (who I like matched up against Gilmore) and Donald Jones. Yes, our Donald Jones is now their z-receiver. While I liked him, I would never accuse the man of being a superstar. Brady might have the ability to play up other receivers, but his best tools are gone. Mike Pettine must be getting stopped in practice because he's drooling...and the players might have mistaken him for a rabid bulldog. This is a comparison I like. If the Bills show half the talent we're hoping from them, I want to see the Pats pass game shut down, and Brady getting hit like a pinata. When Brady takes hits, he starts losing it and you see those 4 INT games. I don't even need to imagine what that will be like. Does anyone remember Week 1 in 2009? For the first half, the Bills were pretty dominant on D, getting to Brady and getting a pick 6 and everyone on ESPN couldn't shut up about how Tom Brady was coming off his ACL. When they came back to win, no one talked about how McKelvin had fumbled the kickoff, it was all about how amazing Tom Brady was. I think this was where I really started to hate the Pats.