vincec

Offense looks the same to me based on preseason. I'm worried about the defense given that they lost Byrd and Kiko, plus Schwartz is a huge unknown IMO. Based on that I'm kind of expecting 5-8 wins, again.

Yeah, like the two situations are remotely comparable. A team that has made it to three straight NFC championship games and one Super Bowl compared to a team that hasn't made the playoffs in a generation. 49er fans KNOW that they are good while Bills fans have scant few reasons to believe so.

So basically, the scouts are stupid? They come to the games where the teams don't use their "real" defenses but don't go to the open practice sessions where they do? If you never practice your defense against live opponents how will you ever be able to play it well once the season starts? I agree that they don't game plan during the preseason, but they'd better be practicing the stuff that they plan on using once the real games start. Otherwise these two months are just an exercise in avoiding injuries.

So there's no need to practice your actual defense prior to the opening game of the season?

Graham was picked off by Duke Williams. It was Williams fault as Graham was in the position he was supposed to be in. Watch the play again. If that's Jarius Byrd back there then that's an int, not a TD.

It would be Pears starting with Hairston as swing backup. Roster would look like this: Glenn, Williams, Wood, Urbik, Pears, Hairson, Henderson, Richardson, Legursky/Kouandio. I can also see Henderson starting to get some RT reps when Glenn returns on his way to swing tackle duty. We'll see how it plays out. No way I start him though.

I'm sure a better backup prospect will be cut in a couple of weeks.

Any more excuses for EJ? The ball was wet? The lights were in his eyes?

Bills DL: M Williams, Dareus, K Williams, Hughes, Lawson, Charles, Cohen, Johnson. If the Bills keep 9 then it is between him and Wynn, IMO. Otherwise he will be cut.

Guard is pretty crowded with candidates right now. I suspect that when Glenn returns we will see Henderson get some reps at RT and Kouandjio get some reps at guard. If Kouandjio looks bad there too then I think he may be in some danger of getting cut. I don't think the NFL would like that.

Gilmore has some improving to do but I think he can do it. If not, Corey Graham has looked pretty good this preseason as well and may push Gilmore for playing time.

What's going to happen when Schwartz leaves after the season and the Bills go back to a 3-4? Who's the OLB then?

I think that Henderson needs a year in the NFL with no issues before anyone entrusts him with a starting position, IMO. Let him work as a tackle backup, ideally in one spot like they are doing and ease him into this thing. Henderson has a lot to prove on and off the field to me before he becomes a starter.

You're funny. Exactly. You don't want too good a backup or Manuel might start looking over his shoulder after a bad game or two. I don't necessarily agree with this but it seems to me that this is the Bills approach.

I don't see it happening. The Bills staff is stubbornly "happy" with the current QB situation. These are the guys for the Marrone era, IMO. The only way things change is if there is an injury.

Any news on how Hairston has looked at guard in practice? My impression from reading the reports so far was that he didn't do that well there and was back working at tackle.

It's interesting to see that Tim Graham's projection only has the Bills keeping 8 offensive linemen. It seems crazy to me to only have one interior line backup on the roster for three positions. I'd be surprised not to see another interior guy kept even if it's not Legursky.

I think that a guy on the bubble of being cut is probably motivated 24/7. Otherwise, he won't last much longer.

He looked pretty good against the Bills.

They need a third center option on the roster. If Legursky is cut then they'll need to keep MacPherson or teach someone else the basics of the position. Center is like QB in that you really need three options on game day, even if one is only for an "emergency". If you don't have a viable center, the game is over.

If your goal is to win a championship, then an "acceptable" QB is one who can deliver this. There probably aren't more than 10 QBs in the league who can accomplish this so the list IS short.

You don't learn very much as a player during these scrimmages and pre-season games. They are more for player evaluation than practice. It's like taking a test on three straight days. I'm not sure what the point of it is either.

Yeah, whatever happens with Manuel it's tough to argue that the Bills should have Fitz back.

Tunnels are really the best option for highways running through downtowns, which is why they keep coming up. A surface road cuts a huge swath through the city fabric and essentially destroys the area. In the 70s, the solution was skyway type overpasses but it turns out that people don't really like being under those either. Either keep the highways away from downtown or tunnels are the only two options that allow development, IMO.

Right now Pears is the best RT on the team. I can't see him being cut.