skibum

I think I was expecting more big moves in the off season, since last year the team was so cash-strapped. But the team should be better overall, in large part because a lot of quality starters are returning and many of them are still young and improving. The only significant loss was Mack Hollins. The Bills have a pretty strong continuity advantage, and they are coming off a season in which I think they far exceeded expectations. Big picture says they should be better.

It's a pretty good PS for a team that's trying to win right now, but it's very thin on developmental DB talent for a team that's already thin at DB.

I'm surprised DeWayne Carter made the 53. I guess they figured he would get picked up on waivers? But every other PS player including Frank Gore Jr. passed thru, so I don't see why Carter wouldn't have.

I like the idea a lot, but I think the execution could use a little work. Overall, though, I don't hate it, and I think it will look a lot better when we see the whole team wearing them on the field. If it's true that they are only wearing them in week 5, that's a big whiff. Why not a December game, when it is actually going to be cold? Are they afraid everyone would be invisible if it's snowing?

Bass kicks everything on an angle. It makes no sense, because the effective distance between the goalposts shrinks as the approach angle of the ball increases. But that seems to be the way he likes to kick them. All that said, Bass is overall a fine kicker who is unfortunately prone to cold spells. I would love for the Bills to someday land one of those sure-thing kickers. I don't think Butker gets nearly enough credit for the Chiefs' success. People talk a lot about what would happen in the Bills and Chiefs traded QBs - I would like to see them swap kickers!

It wouldn't be a Bills season without a Jordan Phillips signing. What the heck, he's a known quantity and the DL depth chart is looking unseasoned and mediocre until Hoecht and Ogunjobi come back. He will probably be inactive until something bad happens, anyway. Also a great teammate and de facto Bill for Life, by somewhat unconventional means. Also, does anyone know if there is a record for the number of times a player has retuned to the same team after being off that team for whatever reason?

Fitz goes without saying.

If he got an MRI and they haven't figured out a prognosis yet, my GUESS is a partial ACL tear (grade 1 or 2 sprain). It can be very difficult to judge the severity of them from an MRI, and sometimes you have to wait for the swelling to go down to do more mechanical-type testing. MCL and LCL injuries are typically more definitive right away. I guess it could also be a PCL, but those are rare. Whatever, I just hope it's not bad.

Wande Owens, anyone?

I don't think it's a big deal for him to say that. It's been an obvious roster battle from day 1, and it still is. It also doesn't mean he thinks the options all suck; maybe it's just that nobody has separated. Worst case scenario is nothing changes from last year. Maybe a little worse scenario is the rookie starts and gets blown up early and often.

I guess you could think of him as Mack Hollins before there was Mack Hollins. In that light, I don't think it's a terrible idea if they don't like what they're seeing from the guys they have today. Now can they get him for Mack Hollins money? At this point, probably.

Great topic, I often wonder about this myself. I graduated high school in WNY in the mid - 90's. I remember there being more non-Bills fans than Bills fans in my school (small sample size). The Bills were a joke when I was in grade school. Kids made fun of Bills fans, and a lot of kids either jumped on bandwagons, or got behind a team in a city where they had family or liked a particular player. Even my dad stopped watching games for a while. I definitely remember the '87 season being the first time in my life that folks were optimistic about the Bills' future. Niners, Raiders, and Skins were probably the most popular alternatives, then the Cowboys when they became good again (remember they had a major rough patch in the late 80s). I don't recall many Miami fans - their gear was just too ugly. I think it says something about someone when they root against their local team just to be different, especially when they get on some dynasty team's bandwagon. It's a 'type', for sure!

Well, if Josh wants him back, he's probably coming back.

Myles Garrett seems to be the most logical choice. I don't really think Mahomes would give the Bills any better a chance than Josh does, except perhaps in the eyes of the officials. The primary advantage the Chiefs have over the Bills is Andy Reid.

Hard choice, because no SBs at all is worse in terms of underachievement, but 4 SB losses is so much more epic.

I didn't see the game yesterday, but unfortunately he was featured often in the Giants' offensive highlights. A couple of times he opted not to drop into coverage and left a guy wide open on the outside for a big play. He also gave up a catch for a 2 pt conversion, though he was close on that one.

Every year I wish the Bills would just select the best K in the draft, even if it's a 3rd or 4th round pick. It seems like a low-risk position to evaluate, as kicking field goals in college is exactly the same as kicking field goals in the NFL. It's such a key role, and one the Bills (and many other teams) seem to undervalue. Think about how important guys like Butker and Tucker have been to their teams' success.

Yeah, but as a 5th round pick he is overqualified.

Did Wande Owens show anything in training camp? I can't say I've seen his name mentioned anywhere since camp started. He would have gotten my pre-camp vote, and I guess I'll let it ride because I don't know much about how any other UDFA/invitees performed.

Somewhat true, if you consider that most of the Bills' division "rivalries" have been either lopsided or meaningless throughout much of their history. Even during the Kelly-Marino days, Buffalo usually got the best of Miami (and way back in the day, it was all Miami for a while). The Bills dominated the Pats for many years until Brady turned it sharply the other way, and now it's back to the Bills with the big advantage. The Jets have never been much competition, except when both the Bills and Jets were mediocre. So yeah, not a lot of sustained excitement within the AFC East.

Glad it's not longer, looking forward to someone stepping up.

Looking at the Bills' draft history, there have not been a lot of knuckleheads taken in general, and the few that were didn't tend to grow out of it. It's hard to find a good example. I guess Aaron Maybin would be one - he was super cocky with the whole "Mayhem" thing, but didn't have the chops to sustain an NFL career. Since then he has done a lot of very unique and meaningful work in the Baltimore community and in the art world.

Now that you mention it, it would be nice if this happened more often. Each team could have one home and one away with the throwbacks. It's kind of a let-down when only one team is wearing them! OK, so it looks a little different when painted on the modern helmet design, but I'll take it. Is Cole Bishop going to wear the Kelso helmet cushion?

They should do more throwback unis from the '70s, and then match the stadium and TV segue music to them on game day. The league could have a whole weekend of games devoted to it. That, and I want just one Bills game with the blue mask getup of the early '80s.

I hope he has a full recovery. Isn't this the guy Tom Brady had anointed as the next big thing a time or two? As much as I hate TB, the guy knows quarterbacking. I wouldn't count his early career against him; a lot of great QBs suck out loud for a couple of years. Maybe he can one day live up to the hype.