Utah John

The frustration was revealed in the second half of the Jets game. The Bills were in 3rd and makeable, and TT threw one of his half dozen ducks toward Clay, who was not exactly making the best effort either. Incomplete, fourth down, and Watkins was on the other side of the field, watching, and then pounding the ground in frustration. I suspected it was frustration at the incompetence of TT to hit basic, elementary-school throws that an NFL QB has to hit 99 times out of 100. I haven't seen any injury reports about Watkins, but he wasn't on the field when the Bills were making their slow-motion last-gasp attempt to come back. I hope his foot was just sore. My guess is, his heart was sore. He knows he's a talented player but it just isn't working. I think Watkins will be in Buffalo until his rookie contract runs out, and then takes less money than the Bills offer, to go. Anywhere.

I see you fellow old guys bragging about the games you've seen. Well we all forget details sometimes but for heaven's sake not this one. It was 51-3, not 52-3.

Unfortunately for the 2016 Bills they weren't playing the 5-11 2015 Ravens. The Ravens look pretty good. The Bills D was about a B+ which is far better than last year, and except for a really good runner they had the Ravens offense well contained. This looks like the team we expected to see at the start of last year, pretty good defense, shaky offense. The Bills never got into the flow yesterday, because they couldn't convert third downs and stay on the field often enough. So Shady didn't get enough carries and none of the WRs got enough targets. Why? Taylor played poorly but he was only part of the problem. He needed better protection. On Thursday the Bills with Cordy Glenn hurt play the Jets with their fearsome D line. Gronk is not the answer to protecting Taylor, and Felton is a good pass protector. This is a good move.

Look, I hope Watkins is OK to play, and he gets through this year in good shape, and comes back in 2017 in actual good health. But these things happen. No one thinks Keenan Allen is a kitty or fragile, but look at this: 2016 NFL Knee Allen blew out his ACL during play in Week 1, ending his 2016 season. 2015 NFL Kidney Allen came down for a touchdown pass hard on his back and lacerated his kidney. He had to undergo surgery and was placed on IR 2014 NFL Ankle Allen got pulled awkwardly in his week 15 game against the Broncos and had to leave with a sprained ankle and fractured collarbone. He missed the final 2 games of the season. 2012 College Knee Allen tore his PCL in college that required surgery Finally I doubt the Chargers fans are beating up on their best player because he's been hurt. They're disappointed but they suck it up and move on. Just what we ought to do. In our case, there's a good chance Watkins can be productive all year, whereas Allen is out, so we should be happy to have Watkins as long as he can play.

The Ravens were 5-11 last year and this year are aiming at 11-5 and see no reason not to shoot for the division championship. The Bills were 8-8 last year and this year are aiming at 10-6, or 9-7 if that squeaks them into the playoffs, and never talk like they're going to take the division from the Patriots. A man's reach should exceed his grasp. A team that is just trying to be less mediocre, well...

Someone please find Tyrod's mojo. He misplaced it somewhere between Week 17 last year against the Jets, and Week 1 this year. No sense of confidence or attacking. Even his miraculous throw to Clay was just scrambling to stay alive. He NEVER attacked the deep secondary. Why not put Watkins in the slot if that's all you're going to ask him to do. Woods made some plays, but what happened to the other WRs? Tyrod is just as quick and strong and agile as ever. Use your skills, Tyrod, and attack the defense.

Belichick isn't a villain. He's a great coach who happens to be in the same division as the Bills. If he was our coach, we'd love him. He does have the personality of a mouthful of unsweetened lemon juice, I'll give you that.

ALL teams have tons of weapons. ALL teams have personnel and schemes to neutralize the weapons. It comes down to a few players with special talent, the ability of coaches to make adjustments, and above all, execution. I think the Bills have an edge in talent, with Watkins, McCoy, Gilmore, and Hughes better than the Ravens' best. I am not sure I've ever seen Wrecks make effective adjustments on defense, but Roman does make good adjustments on O. As for execution, that has me worried. The same sloppiness that leads to so many penalties pervades the Bills' execution and costs them every game. For that, I blame Wrecks as well. This is a winnable game. But the other factor I didn't mention above is the officials. The buffalo on their helmets must look like a target to the refs, based on the silly number of bad calls working against the Bills in the preseason.

Mario was a great player who's declining but still very good, but he's not as good as Vernon was last year when the Bills beat the Fins. Unless Miami's DBs suddenly improve, there are weak links there to be exploited. As for Mario leaving, just like Hogan leaving, they're both in systems where they can do better than how the Bills used them. I liked both of them when they were on the Bills and I wish them well, personally and professionally. That doesn't mean I hope they rip up the Bills or that their new teams beat the Bills. It's just I don't start hating a guy just because he leaves. Last year, Mario did not act like a true professional. He acted like he was an artiste, entitled to do his own thing instead of meshing with the other 10 men. Memo to the league -- good player if you want an artiste, not a good choice for a "team defense" approach.

So, who gets cut to make room for Dareus and Shaq?

The article about Humber said he's 5-foot-11 and 232 pounds. Eric Striker is 6 foot and 218, and he was too small. Humber carries a little more weight but he still seems pretty small to play LB.

None. Bruce Smith was a star. There are different rules in the NFL for stars.

I was on vacation and couldn't watch the Bills v Skins game, but I was able to hear the radio broadcast on line. The replay of the Alexander sack shows it was a terrible call. I wanted to ask about the OPI call at the end of the game. I was watching the Browns game in a bar, and Josh Gordon manhandled the DB, pushing him out of the way so Gordon could make a TD catch. The commentators were a little embarrassed that he got away with it but said that's the kind of non-call Gordon always gets. I wondered if the Bill OPI was anywhere close to that level of a push. The Bills commentator on the radio said, yeah, there was a little push but nothing like what receivers usually get away with. Bottom line, it seemed like Hochuli and crew were just out to screw the Bills, and protect the Skins at all costs. Were there any questionable calls that went in the Bill's favor?

Hogan is worth what the Pats are paying, in their system. He wouldn't be in ours. The Pats love to have quick, responsible receivers with good hands who can get separation in the first few yards and give Brady a quick read. They complete a couple of those and then send Gronk deep when the defenders adjust to the short game. Happens all the time. We can't do it like that, and no one else without Brady can either. So this is how it goes. A player finds a system that works for him, and suddenly looks better than before. The Bills have that work for them, too. Look at Tyrod Taylor and Jerry Hughes.

3. Risky Business

The Sabres players didn't intentionally tank during their two last-place finish years. Most of them tried as hard as possible, as professionals. They just weren't very good. It was the management that cleaned house, leaving the team bereft of NHL quality players. The Bills management is absolutely not going to clean house this year. For one thing, seriously, wait till next year. We not only get next year's draft class, we get this year's too. The offense is still pretty loaded with talent and the defense will be too after another draft. This year looks grim, from all the injuries and the stupidity. I expect the players will put forth a better effort on D than they did last year, but if the D still sucks look out for a serious collapse. And that could happen especially with one or two more injuries. If they start 1-3 or 0-4, I expect Ryan to be fired. It isn't worth losing a season on purpose, but come on, we don't have anything to do with it. Do you think the Bills players will tank because we ask them to?

Dareus was quoted as saying he wasn't happy about playing the Pats when Brady was suspended. I'd say this is taking that preference to an extreme.

There was some talk on the radio after the game about switching the player of the game award from Gragg to C Jones. In my mind, the best Bill performance was by Colton Schmidt.

Jets first 6 games: -- Bengals -- at Bills -- at Chiefs Seahawks -- at Steelers -- at Cardinals They might win one or two of those (or none, quite possibly). 3-3 is stretch and 4-2 would be a miracle. So if they start 2-4 (realistic best case) they would need to go 8-2 the rest of the way to get to 10-6, and even then maybe fall short of the playoffs again. 8-2 would need a different, more consistent, Fitz than the one we know. More likely, they'll be 1-5 and tank the year to get a savior QB in next year's draft.

My take on this is, there's a QB in college this year they expect to be available in next year's draft. They're embracing the tank to get a good shot at that college kid.

For these pretty-good QBs, unless they keep developing, the D coordinators figure out how to stop them. Film reveals all. This could happen to Tyrod Taylor too but it doesn't have to. He seems to be very coachable and is working on the flaws in his game. I'm optimistic he'll continue his development and success.

Ouch. A distant memory I try to block. But I can still remember Thurman getting a first down against the Bills and signaling it. Goes to show even one of the greatest Bills of all time could hold a grudge. I'm glad he's back in the community and supporting the Bills.

Someone (James Bond, I think) once said the difference between a beautiful girl and a plain one was often a matter of millimeters -- eyes a little different, or the nose, and everything gets better. The Bills went from a great D two years in a row to LOUSY last year. Sure many of us blame Wrecks for not being content to do Schwartz v.3 on D while Romeo and Tyrod rejuvenated the O, and the Bills sail into the playoffs. And lose, but we'd all take it. But sometimes Wrecks can be Rex, and actually make things better. Some of the problems last year were down to rebellion. Super Mario went to Subpar Mario because he wouldn't go along. Dareus wasn't delighted to be dropping into space and guarding air. There was drastic confusion resulting from complacency, that all the D would need to do is show up and dominate, so why should they bother learning a new system and new signals? That was then. Now, the millimeters can be moved in the other direction. Maybe. IF Shaq doesn't miss too much time. IF Ragland isn't as slow as the scouts feared. IF no one tells Kyle Williams how old he is and he realizes he can't possibly be doing what he does anymore. IF Jerry Hughes doesn't get hurt. IF Darby skips his sophomore slump and moves right to his junior year. IF Aaron Williams can play without seriously hurting his neck. You get the picture. A lot can go right. Or not. As far as scoring defense goes, well, maybe this will be a good year. The Bills play AFCE opponents six times, and in five of those games the other team won't have an NFL-caliber QB. The Rams, 49ers, Jags, and Browns will also be O-ly challenged. Hey, think about it that way, and it looks possible.

My guess is Kiko's one of those guys whose success depends a lot on the scheme he's in. He was usually very good in his rookie season, playing instinctively, but when he guessed wrong it always turned out bad. He lost a year to injury, and got traded. Maybe the Eagles didn't use him so he'd excel, and now he's on his third team. He always seemed like a good guy, a real football player but not a jerk. I don't think the Fins are going anywhere this year so I feel safe in wishing Kiko well.

Given that the Bills made the trade with the Browns to move up in the draft, ask yourself -- would the Bills be better if they'd selected Kahlil Mack and kept SJ; if they'd selected Sammie and kept SJ and let someone else go because of too many $ spent on WRs; or if they did what they did. My preference ALWAYS was that they should have taken Mack. I realize the D was awesome at that point, but a lot of those D players are gone and suddenly they're looking for depth or starters at LB and DE. Mack >>> Watkins