OldTimer1960

This is beautiful, Joe B just declares that Manuel pass was "horrid". Sounds like maybe the problem wasn't the pass.

And that would be nice compared to how the local media would react - think "Mario over-payed and done, wasted money on Hughes and Dareus needs to grow up" type stories.

I also would have to say Barry Sanders and I also liked Ken Stabler. My memory says that Sanders was by far the most elusive RB I've ever seen. OJ might have been as good but his style was more speed and power with some elusiveness rolled in. A couple of others that I thought were special were Earl Campbell and Larry Czonka. Campbell was a beast who was fast and could run over a tank. Czonka wasn't fast but seemingly was untackleable without at least 3 defenders.

Well on GR, if you ask them what football analytics are they say "duh, you are statistically better off going for the 1st down on 4th down instead of punting." They don't take into consideration how good the offense or defense is, down and distance, score and time remaining,...

Is there any qualified good NFL OL coach available to fill this soon-to-be-vacancy?

Really depends on what it costs to get one of those guys, but it is really late to bring another QB in and have him learn the offense well enough to compete on even footing. If Mike Glennon or Mettenberger could beat out any of the current QBs on the roster without benefit of the offseason learning, then the Bills are in a whole heap of trouble

Believe it, it is common. Even my own son, who is a very good kid, has rolled that one out. They hear all this at school and many of them think the focus on anti-child-abuse makes them immune to punishment.

59.8%, 201 yards/game, 8TDs, 7INTS Sounds VERY similar to EJ Manuel's rookie stats, but many here think he is a bust.

Bad news for the team if he misses any camp time (or even camp prep time). The OL is not good and didn't get a lot of personnel help in the offseason. They need all of the work and coaching that they can get, especially with the offense intended to be heavily run focused.

Hmm, a pseudo-scholarly article that looked at revenue, but didn't consider the ratio of attendance to market size? Of course the larger cities can charge more as you ought to be able to max out supply with equivalent or smaller stadiums in markets 4+ times the size of Buffalo. It is truly remarkable that a depressed market this size can fill one of the larger stadiums with for a consistently below average team at any ticket price

+1. Rooting for him. He always handled himself with class and never complained publicly.

Seriously, what potential did you see in Manziel? He made his living and reputation in college running around and throwing high passes that his 6'5" 1st round pick WR Mike Evans bailed him out on. Gimmicky offense that allows decent college QBs to put up great numbers. Then in the NFL, we'll surely you couldn't have seen potential in any of his games - could you? It wasn't the case of a highly talented kid got derailed by alcohol, but rather a mediocre talent didn't work hard and was also undermined by alcohol. If he has cleaned up his partying, he is still a backup at best in the NFL. He is NOT anything like Russell Wilson or even close to what Doug Flutie was.

How does the drop off correlate with Kaepernick taking over at QB from Alex Smith? I think it correlates pretty closely. Kaep started taking over end of 2012 and was the starter in 2013 and 2014.

I think Spiller will do well with the Saints. I even think that they might throw it to him a few times (where was that in the bills' offense?)

I think that D'Alesandro was the prize that walked.

He was the backup QB who never played. In most every city, the backup QB is popular - until they have to play for an extended time... Very predictable Joe B comment.

I hope that having Hunter try out is more that Rex is doing him a favor rather than a sign of desperation at OT. Maybe it was injury related earlier, but Hunter was not good in NY

Agreed. I just hope that the relentless drum of "he can't play" by the press and some fans hasn't completely beat the confidence out of him. I also expect a firestorm of criticism for every int and incomplete pass in camp and preseason - much more so than the other QBs will get. He will have to be very strong to overcome that.

All his Vikings ganmes were included in his last 30 games. Last year: 58% completion rate, 6 yds/attempt, 3 TDS 4INTS

I think it reflects his 10 year career and especially the last 4 years and 30 games where he put up 30 TDs and 34 INTS. That is pretty "meh"

Bruce is retired and will be 52 in 2 weeks. Most players lose considerable muscle after they retire simply because there is no advantage to maintain that level of strngth/bulk. Some stay in good shape, but smaller and others balloon up in weight. Smith played at a rock solid, but fairly light 265 (media reported).

My view is that Manuel generally was OK as a rookie and was not that good last year. How much of that was that the coaches sucked the confidence out of him or that defenses took away some of the things he liked to do? - I don't know. I am pulling for Manuel because: 1. He is a hard worker and has the right work ethic to succeed 2. He has the best combination of size, speed and arm strength on this team 3. He is inexperienced enough to at least *hope* that he can show significant improvement My second choice is Taylor because: 1. He hasn't proven that he can't play well at the NFL level, so there is hope that he could turn out to be good 2. He has speed and arm strength, but lacks desired height and girth 3. In short, there is a little hope in the unknown My last choice is Cassel because: 1. He has proven in several opportunities to not be very good 2. Importantly, he has been bad for the LAST FOUR YEARS 3. He has proven that he isn't the guy to minimize turnovers with a negative TD to INT ratio in his last 30 starts 4. His last miracle season was HALF A DECADE ago I think it is very unlikely that he reproduces anything close to his miracle 2010 season and there is a lot of recent evidence that he is no better than what Manuel produced in his first 14 games Really, the Bills' QB situation is depressing, I just think the less experienced two have some physical talent and *might* be able to put it together whereas I think the last 4 years and 30 games have pretty much proven that Cassel isn't a good NFL starting QB

What defines “smart with the football”? Seems to me a strongly positive TD to INT ratio would be a good indicator. That is NOT what Matt Cassel has shown over his last 30 NFL games.

You though that he played pretty well in 2013? He averaged 200 yards/game and threw 11 TDs vs 9 INTs - Very very close to EJ Manuel's rookie stats where he played with only 1 WR that had ever caught an NFL pass going into the season. In Cassel's 4 years since his miracle 2010 season in KC, he has put up the following over 30 games: Year Yards/Attempt Yds/Game TD Int Rate 2014 6.0 142 3 4 66 2013 7.1 201 11 9 81.6 2012 6.5 200 6 12 67 2011 6.4 190 10 9 77 Over those 30 games, he 30 TDs and 34 INTs - that's a good-sized and most-recent sample and it isn't very good. Heck, I'd say EJ Manuel's stats over his first 14 games are at least as good. I didn't post this to say that Manuel is the answer, but if Cassel is still being thought of as a possible answer 10 years into his career, then Manuel certainly ought to get at least this year before he is written off.

Car dale Jones may not even be a starter at Ohio State. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here...