Utah John

I was surprised to see Ahmad Rashad playing for the Vikings. In my mind he'll always be a Bill, with that one great season, particularly the miracle victory over the Raiders. He missed the next season with an injury and then was gone. I'm not sure if the Bills traded him but he ended up going from Seattle to the Vikings.

First of all, watching Dalvin Cook highlights, you notice right away that the Minnesota O-line was a lot better than what the Bills had last year. D Cook would be working hard for short gains, like Singletary did last year, but the difference is that if D Cook gets a hole he can take more advantage of it than Motor could. Second, assuming the Bills O-line changes are upgrades, Cook would be a better option than any of the FA RBs the Bills picked up. But, dollars. I can't see how they Bills could swing a salary attractive for D Cook.

I think he already IS the next Dareus. Ship him out ASAP before the rookies get the idea that his lazy, unproductive performance is acceptable.

Marcel Dareus v.2 Talented DT taken high in the draft. Inconsistent performance, no better overall than the JAGs available off the street. And the attitude that he's deserving of a huge paycheck. Nah. Dareus got his money and still didn't come through. Not only that, but Dareus contributed to the team morale-killing laziness that defined the Bills for more than a decade. The Bills don't have Kyle Williams and Lorax anymore to take this guy out back and tell him the news. Who's the leader on D now? Milano is outstanding on the field but seems quiet by nature. Dr Poyer and Mr Hyde? I'm not sure Poyer's deeply committed after not getting the big paycheck he was expecting. Von Miller? Could be but until he gets on the field again, I'm not sure the youngsters are giving him his due. The Bills absolutely can't afford to let the cancer back into the building. If it takes an Oliverectomy to get the team back to having its head on straight, do what needs to be done.

As print newspaper ships slowly sink beneath the waves, the geniuses in charge decide to reduce weight by tossing all the buckets overboard. Wishing you all the best, Chuck.

Does anyone know why Miami didn't re-sign Shell?

Makes sense not to have all the driving to get places. Caution though -- I had an uncle and aunt who could never decide whether to live in the city or the suburbs (usually Orchard Park or Hamburg), and they kept moving back and forth every few years. They had a beautiful house wherever they were, but they always missed the place they weren't at. Actually it was my uncle who couldn't decide, and my uber-patient aunt who went along.

The NFL network re-aired the Bills-Ravens game from last year, yesterday. Josh ran several times, very effectively, and took a couple of tough hits. But the commentators also mentioned clearly how he was willing (last year) to take the checkdowns, to hit a short distance receiver for a good gain if the deep throw wasn't there. There were only a few plays with a designed run for Josh -- most of his best runs came from the defense leaving the middle of the field unguarded to cover the receivers spread across the field. Josh's runs in that situation bedevil the DCs around the league, forcing them not to guard any part of the Bills offense too heavily. When the Ravens left people in the middle, the Bills receivers were more open. THAT'S the main reason Josh's running is so important -- it forces the defense to make unappealing choices, leaving more openings elsewhere. Hines is right, and the coaches are also right. There are opportunities to improve how Josh is protected, but it's still part of the Bills offense to let him run if the defense begs him to do so.

So Josh, after you hand off, you go like this, and the defense all freezes.

No, that's not right. People get airline tickets months in advance to get good deals, and often those tickets are nonrefundable, or at least there's a large change fee involved. In fact there are probably people out there who already have plans and tickets in hand for the upcoming season. I think the league should have the crappy teams playing on TNF football, which hardly anyone watches anyway and which screws up teams' weekly routines. Teams should have to earn their way out of the TNF hell-hole by winning, to be rewarded with playing more games on Sunday or MNF.

I remember reading how when Jim Brown started his career, the Browns O line was not good. Brown would just put his head down and try to grind out whatever he could get. Then someone actually opened a hole for him, and he fell down forward because he wasn't expecting the lack of resistance. After that the line got better and so did he. Simpson came into the league just a couple of years after Brown retired, while running backs were still the key players on the team, and we used to argue about whether Simpson was as good as Brown, but I don't think he was. Simpson did break some of Brown's records, but as great as he was Simpson was still not as dangerous. Simpson was maybe a little faster and a lot more elusive. He was the same height as Brown (6' 2") but was about 15 pounds lighter. Brown ran with much more power -- the difference was a lot more pronounced than you'd think 15 extra pounds would do., The difference in public perception came from Brown's publicly not taking any crap from anyone, while Simpson was the pretty boy happy good feeling non-threatening black man that white people could feel safe about. Simpson was a little bit better as a actor -- OK, let's face it, he really was a little less bad -- but the biggest post-football difference is that Brown worked hard to improve the lot of black people through energetic community activism. Simpson, like most other former athletes, just walked away to enjoy life. All that said, I still think OJ is the best running back ever not named Jim Brown.

Well, yeah, but unfortunately he came back.

No worries, oldmanfan. I'm an old man and a fan, too, and the list of things I've forgotten is pretty long. I have it here somewhere but I can't remember where I put it.

It did happen. https://www.buffalobills.com/team/alumni/wall-of-fame

Well, you might have noticed the Bills logo was not one of the ones those people tried and failed to guess. That might have been so difficult for them it would have been unfair.

I'm trying to figure out who the quitter is, who people are referring to. Maybe Lou Saban? I think Saban definitely belongs on the WOF.

Shane Ray might work out fine. Let's just take a look. As for DE improvement, there's still a lot of upside for Groot and Epenesa. Basham I never thought would work out and he's performed down to my expectations, but the other two could be the solution to the need right there on the roster.

In certain years, for that team, she has a good argument...

OK, to people not paying close attention the Bills probably look stale. Same cast of characters, while other teams have stepped up. And the loss of Edmunds, not a big favorite of many fans but really important for the D concept the Bills used. And the two great safeties are both a year older. And the great CB was definitely not back to his standard when he played last year. And the great DE tore his knee pretty late in the year and probably won't be the same at the start of the year. And the great WR seems to not have his head on straight. And the great QB -- who knows what effect his personal life will have? So on paper the Bills look like old news, that should be old news, and other teams are fresh and exciting. But still, think about all the great players I just mentioned, and ask whether other teams have the same problem bringing back greatness. The Bills still are a strong team, so we'll see how things go.

Levi was among those banished for the 13 second debacle. The special teams coach that didn't call for a squib kickoff. Levi for stupidly guarding the sidelines even though the Chiefs had 3 timeouts left and did not need to use the sidelines. Some people who shared responsibility were essentially too big to fail -- too important to cut. McDermott, Frazier, Edmunds. But a marginal CB? C-ya.

No one in this matter did anything wrong except the lying girl who might have ruined the man's life and career. I hope he sues HER for damages. When the Bills cut Araiza, they didn't trash him or say they believed he was guilty. It's possible Araiza would accept the situation and return to the Bills, if they want him.

The NFL decided when it went to a 16 game season that it would not have asterisks about records like OJ's single season record. But, it's still a fact that he did it in 14 games, which means he still has the highest average yards per game over an entire season. (I didn't check that but I'm pretty sure it's true.)

Not sure if anyone else is tracking this, but the Bills are adding size, which is a good thing. Slot receiver Kincaid. Monster sized guard. Tall WR. Now, about that LB... The Bills are making a bold move not having a true MLB on the roster.

Have the Bills really been drafting that much better than the Pats over the past few years? BTW, khakis, love it.

Favre wasn't good anymore after he left GB. His arm was shot. He got TDs by throwing up ducks and hoping his receivers outfought the defenders.