transient

Thus the disconnect. I would argue that they have drafted for need in early rounds more often than not, with this year being the most notable exception. I would also argue that based on the post you were responding to, Rob's House was insinuating that the Bills have a history of drafting for need over talent as well.

Drafting for need in the first few rounds when there is a huge disparity between the talent level of your need and the talent level of the BPA results in a team devoid of playmakers. Have you enjoyed watching that team for the last ten years? The tone of your post would suggest you haven't.

I think that was his point, those are drafting/reaching for need, which was what he was arguing against when he said it results in overpaid mediocrity. Don't know that I'd include Evans or Lynch in that, though.

Roethlisberger spun him around and had his skirt up over his head before he even had a chance to finish his roophy laced beer!

And after the first series, TWO starting running backs (in what is reportedly supposed to be a run first scheme). Nothing like a Varsity-JV scrimmage.

Is Roethlisberger still lining up behind RT?

I was gonna say Bell. However, anatomically speaking it should be a dead heat... but my concern is there are a number of Sallys that could actually finish last in that race!

I would argue that RF is the only known quantity at present. I think Gailey and Nix are trying to determine how much of TE's failure over the last season and a half was him and how much was the absurd coaching situation. IMO, Nix has done everything short of publicly scoff at the stupidity of last year's staff and I think he and Gailey are willing to give TE the benefit of the doubt for the preseason, at least. The fact they had interest in McNabb is enough to tell me they're not sold on the guy as the future.

Playing a stop-gap veteran also doesn't help you figure out what you have on the team now. It would be different if we had a championship caliber defense and were making a run at something, but otherwise bringing in short term garbage is not the answer.

I think either TE or RF gets cut, and who goes depends entirely on Trent's performance the next few games. Gailey is not tied to either guy. From purely a player potential perspective, I think what you see is what you get with RF... a guy who understands the game but doesn't have the talent to produce. If TE gets cut, I think the season is a developmental carousel because Nix and Gailey have to realize that RF playing at his best is not the future of this franchise, and letting him play out the season is wasting available time to see if either of the other QBs can play.

He played his freshman year at UM when Henne got hurt. He transferred to Arkansas after Carr resigned/retired when it became apparent that Rodriguez did not have him in his plans because he wasn't mobile enough.

I was in A2 at the time he started. My impression was that he was a freshman with a gun for an arm, but no touch on the ball. Heaven help the back catching a dump off from him, cuz it was thrown as if he was trying to force the ball in over the middle. Other than that, what can you say about a freshman QB playing at the beginning of the end for the Maize and Blue? He wasn't in Rich Rod's plans (but then again, apparently neither was winning or bowl games).

I don't know if that's accurate. If TE looks lights out against second stringers, does that really tell you anything worthwhile? At this point in time he should look good against a second and third string defense. TE is going to sink or swim against the other team's first string. If he continues to struggle throughout preseason I wouldn't be surprised if he's gone. Fitz has shown what he's got. It's not a matter of understanding the game with him, it's limited physical tools. Personally, I think either TE or RF makes the team in the end. I don't think this season is about wins, unfortunately, so it may not ultimately matter who is behind center.

Yeah. Unfortunately you can make the perfect read every time, and if you don't have the ability to deliver the ball you're no better off than the guy who has no idea where to put it. A downfield route is just as worthless whether the receiver is never thrown to or the ball is underthrown or thrown down the sideline out of bounds. Too bad you can't put Fitz's head on one of the other QB's bodies (though they probably wouldn't have the neck or shoulder development to keep that sucker upright ).

I think Nix and Gailey are looking at the season like this: Trent Edwards is either the starter, or he's cut. Giving him anything less than first team reps will not help evaluate this. If TE starts, Fitz is gone, unless Brohm looks absolutely atrocious against the second stringers. Brown is a project and if they see something in him, I doubt they try to sneak him onto the practice squad. Last season's coaching staff did this franchise a huge disservice by not finding out who could play when the season was clearly over midway through. A few less wins and we have our LT. Give Brohm a few more reps behind center and we have a better idea if he can play. Based on their comments about only one first round QB talent, I don't think we would have gone after a QB any sooner than we did in this years draft. They reportedly had some interest in the only QB worth bringing in, and that was McNabb, and he would have given them probably 3-4 years to develop someone behind him. Bringing in a stop-gap like Garcia or some other 1 year band-aid only hurts this team's development. Nix and Gailey know we're in player evaluation mode, and they know who is likely to be availabe at QB in next season's draft and as a free agent. They also know that if none of the current QBs step up we will be in a position to draft one of them, even if they'd never say it publicly. I fully expect the start of this season to be really painful to watch. I hope they start to show improvement by midseason. You can turn a team around quickly in this day and age, but those teams that do rarely show consistent success. We've had 10 years of futility, and we all want this to change today. However, I don't think that's how these guys operate, and honestly the quick way is usually not the right way.

I would argue that Trent looked comfortable in his rookie season, and the first part of his second. I can recall Rich Gannon and others gushing about his poise his rookie season. He was 11-5 as a starter at the point of the San Diego game in 2008. His stats weren't glorious by any means, and people will argue the point about the strength of opposition, but he could manage games and the team was winning with him. The last season and a half has taken the shine off of him, but he looked in control and like he could develop early on. IIRC in the game JP went down, even though we were destroyed by NE*, TE didn't look horribly out of place, and that was against a real team that was intent on winning that game, not against a combination of second and third string players in the preseason.

Give the kid a break, it was his first live NFL action. His knees were probably knocking a bit, which can cause your balls to wobble. From a football perspective, not much of a tight spiral, though.

Not to mention that he also looked very comfortable in taking over for Losman in his rookie season. People forget that he was 6 and 1 in his first 7 games in the NFL. Not stellar statistics, but able to manage a game. He was actually named to the all rookie team at the end of the season. He then started off 5 and 1 the next season. Who knows if he can get his head back now after the misery of the last season and a half, but c'mon, these statistics alone makes the whole "Clausen is better based on a quarter + of barely adequate preseason football" idea seem just absurd.

Last time I checked jettison meant to throw overboard, not to name as CEO.

I think he should have started talking about Bruce Dehaven instead, so we'd either think he was hiding something or that he was a complete idiot. This also presupposes the fact that his comments were in response to a direct question regarding his OL coach for an article on said coach, and not taken from some previous press conference.

See any film on the Sanchise last season...

Used to love his chats with Shredd and Ragan. He always seemed honest and funny... as opposed to Ted Washington, who always seemed grouchy (but also funny... and usually half asleep).

Indy, Pittsburgh, Philly, NE*, Baltimore, Green Bay, San Diego are all pretty successful, well run franchises that give their players a chance to succeed from day one (at least during these players careers, though admittedly Peyton was the beginning of stability in Indy). I would be interested in seeing where Eli, Flacco, Ryan, Rivers, Rodgers, and Romo's careers would be if they started in identical situations that TE did.

Are you wearing a tuque? Guess that rules me out of the intelligent category. Just kidding bout the angry face.

The only bad blood is with the fans, and we have no bearing on trade possibilities. Accept the fact there was no trade market for him. Nix's actions speak volumes about that fact, as well as the fact that they have no ill will toward him and that he ultimately wasn't in the their plans.