ChanOverChin

Our current roster looks like this: QB: Manuel/Tuel; RB: Spiller/Jackson/Choice; FB: Summers; TE: Chandler/L. Smith/Gragg; WR: Johnson/Woods/Graham/Goodwin/Easley/Hogan; OLs: Glenn/Brown/Wood/Urbik/Pears/Young/Welch/Legursky; P/K/LS: Powell/Hopkins/Sanborn; DLs: K. Williams/Dareus/Carrington/Branch/Ross/Bryant; OLBs: Ma. Williams/Lawson/Hughes/Westerman; ILBs: Alonso/Bradham/Moats/Dowtin; CBs: Gilmore/McKelvin/Brooks/Rogers/Robey; Ss: A. Williams/Byrd/Searcy/D. Williams/Meeks. We only have 4 CBs for the first 6 games so picking up at least one CB is a must. I see the Bills picking up 2 of these 3 CBs: M. Trufant/D. Florence/K. Cox. Another LB would be nice, but isn't necessarily a must. RB J. Dwyer is a good big back and a former Steeler so Whaley may have interest. J. Ballard/Scheffler/Z. Miller are all available at TE and would upgrade the position. B. Lloyd is still available at WR. J'Marcus Webb started 44 games for the Bears at OT. He'd be a nice addition. DT Antonio Garay played for Pettine with the Jets. Pettine has already influenced the signings of Dowtin and Westerman, both former Jets. At QB guys like D. Dixon/V. Young/Wilson/Skelton/Tebow are all available. The ills probably need to consider adding a third QB for depth purposes. I think we could see more than 3 players added before the season starts, which means that a few players on the current roster could still be at risk for bring cut. Your thoughts??

I can see us picking up a CB for sure, plus possibly a LB and a QB to get the roster to 53. But that may not be the end of it. There are better TEs out there than what we have now and RB J. Dwyer is a big RB that the Bills may find too hard to resist. OT J'Marcus Webb, who has started 44 games for the Bears ha to be considered over Welch.

I think we'll see a vet CB added, which is why C. Butler was released. With only 5 CBs on the roster and Gilmore out for at least 6 games you've got to think that Whaley will sign a vet CB. If we assume that that happens then 3 guys have to go. I'm going to say that Cross and C. Bryant get cut. After that it could be any one of many players including QB T. Lewis (if Manuel is healthy enough to start), Troup, Welch, Westerman, or even J. Rogers or Meeks. OT J'Marcus Webb (Bears) is too good to not get picked up pretty quickly. CB M. Trufant is a quality player. TE T. Scheffler would compliment Chandler and L. Smith well. QB D. Dixon (Eagles/Steelers) has experience and is better than what we have behind Manuel. DT Ant. Garay (Jets) was a surprise cut who Pettine might be interested in.

M. Trufant, Sh. Brown.

If you don't care about the makeup of the Bills' roster then why are you here??

Getting a vet CB is a must with Gilmore expected to miss at least 6 games. Maybe even trade for one. I would be on the lookout for a decent vet QB to pickup as well. T. Lewis could be a good developmental player, but he's not ready to help us now if needed. With Legursky injured and not how long he'll be out the Bills might be forced to sign a vet OC/OG to backup Wood.

With the roster now to 55 players, there are some questions to be answered: 1. Who are the last 2 players to be cut? 2. Who will the Bills seek to acquire before Week 1?? I think DT I. Cross is next in line to be cut I've heard that the Bills are trying to trade B. Scott, which is curious. Dowtin can play ILB and OLB so he could be the #4 ILB. Dowtin and Westerman, who Pettine had with the Jets look to be safe. Troup or C. Bryant could gone as well. One would have to think that the Bills are looking fo some help at CB (M. Trufant is available), backup QB (Bills may only keep two and let Lewis go once Manuel is cleared to play), backup OL (add a player to Legursky with Legursky hurt), and possibly backup TE (a very weak group IMHO). WR Stevie Johnson Robert Woods Chris Hogan LT Cordy Glenn Thomas Welch LG Colin Brown C Eric Wood Doug Legursky RG Kraig Urbik RT Erik Pears Sam Young TE Scott Chandler Lee Smith Chris Gragg WR T.J. Graham Marquise Goodwin Marcus Easley QB EJ Manuel Jeff Tuel Thaddeus Lewis FB Frank Summers RB C.J. Spiller Fred Jackson Tashard Choice RE Mario Williams Jerry Hughes Jamie Blatnick DT Kyle Williams Jay Ross Izaan Cross NT Marcell Dareus Alan Branch Torell Troup DE Alex Carrington Corbin Bryant WLB Nigel Bradham Bryan Scott MLB Kiko Alonso Arthur Moats SLB Manny Lawson Marcus Dowtin Jamaal Westerman RCB Stephon Gilmore Justin Rogers SS Aaron Williams Da'Norris Searcy Jonathan Meeks FS Jairus Byrd Duke Williams LCB Leodis McKelvin Ron Brooks Nickell Robey K Dustin Hopkins P Shawn Powell LS Garrison Sanborn

Rapoport, a prominent reporter, mentions that D. Whaley thinks that the Bills may have really found something in Jeff Tuel. He also mentions that the Bills are simply being cautious with Manuel and that Manuel will start Week 1 vs NE if all goes as planned within the next week and a half. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000234676/article/buffalo-bills-believe-they-have-something-in-jeff-tuel

I thought Theisman was extremely annoying. He made the point you mentioned about 50 million times!! How about that interview with Mrs. Snyder?? The Bills were pathetic in this game. I could hardly stand it. But that's what you get when you have to play your third string QB for most of the game. Kolb showed some good things, but he is obviously very injury prone. He would be cut if there were better options out there.

"So limiting free speech is a "liberal" or "progressive" tactic?" - Isn't it?? Obama's a staunch liberal and he takes a big fat shitttt on the Constitution every chance he gets.

Rubes, I guess I don't know how to hold my horses. matter2003, Hogan has done somewhat well on ST, but we still need to see more from him to make a final determination. I don't understand the lovefest for Hogan. Wasn't he cut by the Dolphins last year when their WR corps was fairly thin?? He is a possession receiver. To me, those guys are fairly esasy to find. You have to decide if you like him better long term than both Easley and D. Rogers.

Pete, I like both Hogan and Kaufman, but they are both up against faster/more athletic players who are capable of making bigger plays. I'm happy for Easley for the way he has come back and played so well. He and Rogers have the strength and body type to win the 1v1 battles that NFL WRs so often have to win to keep drives alive. This would have to be the deepest WR corps that I've seen on a Bills roster in a very long time. It really bodes well for the future.

Yes this topic has been discussed before, but maybe not from this point of view (I just love the liberal tendencies of this board's monitors who control everything that is said and done on this board - talk about taking the fun out of it). Anyway, so many people have already pre-determined which WRs will make the final roster based upon only the first two preseason games. I say to you, "Hold your horses". There are still two more games to be played. Pay attention which of these WRs garners the most reps on ST. Those are usually the guys that the team is trying to find a way to find a fit on the roster. SJ/Woods/Goodwin/Graham are all locks to make the final 53 IMHO. I believe that Goodwin has surpassed Graham because of his elite speed and great hands. Goodwin's game is simply more explosive. he has been a very pleasant surprise. After that, there are really some very tough decisions to be made. Whether the Bills decide to keep 6 or possibly 7 WRs will impact the no. of players taken at another position so this is an important discussion. I believe that once you get past determining the top four WRs (i.e. the guys who are going to garner most of the reps on offense each Sunday) you then must look at which players can help you the most on ST and then also provide quality WR depth. The remaining WRs to choose from include D. Rogers/Easley/Hogan/Kaufman/B. Smith/Sampson. My take on these guys from a "complete body of work" perspective (i.e. not just what they've done in the preseason games, but also what they've done in practice and the potential that they have exhibited overall) is as follows: Hogan - consistent, possession receiver. But how much can he contribute on ST?? His upside is limited. Easley - has been surprisingly good, has the most yards of this group in the preseason games, but it has mostly been against 3rd string guys, many of whom won't be playing on Sundays. His upside is pretty high. I love his prototypical size/strength/speed/youth. Kaufman - very tall, rangy receiver who I think is destined for the PS. He has no reps on ST thus far, which is a tell tale sign that the Bills are not seriously considering him for the final 53. He has a decent upside and could be a very good complimentary reciever in another year or two because he's athletic and a solid pass catcher at 6'-5". Sampson - has shown some things, but mostly in garbage time. My guess is that he will be waived on 8-27-13. You always need to show well, but if you're only showing well against 3rd/4th stringers it doesn't mean a whole lot. You've got to show well against 1st/2nd string guys because those are the guys that you're going to go up against on Sundays. D. Rogers - easily the most talented of this group. He has everything that you're looking for in an NFL WR from a physical standpoint. SI's Peter King dubbed him a "Baby Randy Moss". Can he contribute on ST?? That remains to be seen. His upside is extremely high, even to the point that he could be a Pro Bowl WR. I don't think that I can realistically say that about anybody else in this bunch. B. Smith - vet WR, can play QB, can return kicks/punts, can be a gunner on kicks/punts. He is extremely.......extremely valuable because he can do all of that and do it well. Even if he's not a starter at one of those positions, as the seasons moves forwards and various starters are injured he can step right in and get the job done. Did I mention that he can be a positive impact on ST?? I believe I did. And for that reason I believe he will make the final 53 man roster. The Bills would not have sought to reduce his salary if they didn't plan to keep him. They would have simply waived him. They don't need him to be a starting WR, but they do need his ability to contribute on ST. When you go through the process of trying to figure out the depth of the Bills roster at each position you quickly figure out that it's somewhat diffcult to fill 53 roster spots (with high quality players). To me that means that the Bills will fill their roster with 7 WRs as long as WR #5/WR #6/WR#7 can all contribute on ST. If the team is going to keep 7 WRs then I think those 7 have to be: SJ/Woods/Goodwin/Graham/B. Smith/Easley/D. Rogers. I like Easley over Hogan because Easley has more upside. If you take Hogan he's not likely to play much on offense anyway this year so you take Easley because he may surpass Graham at some point. I like D. Rogers to make the final roster because of his very high ceiling. As long as he can contribute on ST he can help you this year. In future years he could be a real gem. You would likely be keeping him over a 6th CB (possibly J. Rogers/TJ Heath) or 5th S (J. Meeks) and none of those guys appear to have the upside that he has.

Would the Bills really cut D. Rogers in favor of guys like Hogan, B. Smith, Easley?? Some writers are already predicting it. Essentially, the Bills can only afford to keep SIX WRs. SJ, Woods, Graham, Goodwin are all locks at this point. That leaves only two spots available for guys like Hogan, B. Smith, Easley, Kaufmann, and D. Rogers to fight over. If you're Marrone you'd like to keep as many as possible, which is why you cut Easley and Kaufmann and move them to the PS. Now you're left to choose two from Hogan, B. Smith, and D. Rogers. If you cut Rogers there is no way that he'll clear waivers since half the league tried to sign him originally as an undrafted FA. Thus, my decision would be to keep Rogers based upon his huge upside (I think you have to consider his entire body of work (i.e. practices and preseason games). I would keep B. Smith over Hogan because Hogan nothing more than a possession WR and B. Smith tremendous versatility far outweighs that. The end result: The Bills keep SJ/Woods/Graham/Goodwin/B. Smith/D. Rogers with Easley and Kaufmann on the PS. Your thoughts??

There's going to be some very tough decisions to be made regarding the WRs that we have. You have to think that four spots are secured with SJ/Woods/Graham/Goodwin. That leaves D. Rogers/B. Smith/Easley/Hogan/Kaufmann/Sampson to fight for 2 and possibly 3 spots. Of the latter group I think Sampson and Kaufmann could be placed on the PS. So who you're really choosing from is D. Rogers/B. Smith/Easley/Hogan. I think Rogers and Easley have the most upside of those four and Smith is extremely valuable because of his versatility, which is an important factor when the coaches are pulling their hair out regarding who to keep as player #52 and #53. If it's me I go with SJ/Woods/Graham/Goodwin/Roger/Easley/B. Smith. Put Hogan on the PS. Maybe you keep Hogan and put Easley on the PS. If you keep Hogan and try to slip Rogers through waivers some team will take a chance on him. Since you're going with a young team anyway you might as well keep guys like Rogers and Easley because of their size/strength/speed/youth over a possession WR like Hogan who has a much better chance of getting through waivers. if you're trying to keep them all, or at least as many as possible, you probably need to not cut Rogers.

Manuel's long drive for a TD, especially when Kolb couldn't do diddly squat, was very impressive. Manuel was the best offensive player for the Bills vs Minny. I don't agree regarding Moats. He's playing ILB because we have nobody else behind Alonso and Bradham. He's better suited for OLB. The Bills need another solid ILB or they could be in trouble this year. We are woeful at TE. We are loaded at WR. If you could only keep two, who do you keep among Hogan, D. Rogers, Easley, and Kaufmann?? Our O-line will be fine, but we really only have eight good ones: Glenn/C. Brown/Woods/Urbik/Pears/Hairston/Young/Legursky. We have no big back to carry the ball in short yardage situations. Our CB depth is not good. We could use a vet CB or even two. Brooks is a playmaker. He;ll get burned on occasion, but he is aggressive and will make some big plays for us this year. Hughes could be a real stud as a pure pass rusher. Best player on the field vs Minny. Lawson and Carrington are both solid players. 91 and 92 look a lot alike on the field. Gilmore's prowess is already forcing opposing QBs to throw away from his side of the field. That's a no brainer when you think about it. Woods is quickly becoming one of my favorite players. So much poise and talent for a rookie. I love the armored tank that is F. Summers. He's got a roster spot locked up with his ST play. C. White is a solid player on ST and has a good chance to make the final roster because the Bills are so thin at ILB.

The Bills need to bring in another vet TE. Gragg and Dickerson are not NFL ready. Chandler may not be 100%. L. Smith is more of a blocker than anything else.

Good job. Allow me to make a few tweaks and add a 53rd player. QB Manuel Kolb Tuel Note: Manuel is easily our best QB. That's a good thing. Hopefully Kolb will stop playing like he's groggy. Tuel is a keeper and another young QB to groom. RB Spiller Jackson Choice Summers Note: These are our four best RBs. Choice is a solid #3. Summers is a monster blocker, can catch the ball out of the backfield, and is an excellent ST player. I think the team needs a big back for short yardage/goal line situations. TE Chandler L. Smith Note: As long as Chandler is healthy I think the Bills only keep two TEs so they can keep seven WRs. Gragg goes to PS. Don't be surprised to see the Bill pick up a TE via the waiver wire after all teams make their final cuts. I would look to add a vet TE. Dickerson and Gragg are not ready to contribute at the NFL level. WR S. Johnson Woods Graham Goodwin Hogan B. Smith D. Rogers Note: Woods is one of my favorite players. Hogan earns a spot because of his consistency. Rogers stays because of his potential. Smith stays because of his versatility. Easley and Kaufman go to PS. OL Glenn Brown Wood Urbik Pears Hairston Young Legursky Note: These are our best eight OLs. Don't be surprised to see the Bill pick up an OL via the waiver wire after all teams make their final cuts. DL K. Williams Dareus Carrington Branch Ross Troup Note: C. Bryant could supplant Troup because he's more agile. OLB M. Williams Lawson Hughes Blatnick Dowtin Note: Blatnik is a steal. Dowtin is very athletic. Westerman may still have a shot. ILB Alonso Bradham Moats B. Scott C. White Note: Another solid ILB is needed. Don't be surprised to see the Bills pick up an ILB via the waiver wire after all teams make their final cuts. C. White makes it because of his ST ability and because the team is woefully thin at ILB. Pough goes to the PS. CB Gilmore McKelvin Brooks Butler Robey Rogers Note: The Bills have ignored the need for another CB or even two. Don't be surprised to see the Bill pick up a CB via the waiver wire after all teams make their final cuts. Rogers makes it because the Bills are woefully thin at CB. S Byrd A. Williams Searcy D. Williams Note: Meeks goes to the PS. ST Hopkins Powell Sanborn Note: Hopkins started kicking the ball consistently out of the end zone on KOs in the Minny game. Lindell never stood a chance.

We actually got two R4 picks for Lynch. I'd say that Seattle got the better of that deal. Lynch has elevated Seattle to elite status and is probably a top 5 if not a top 3 fantasy footbal player. The Bills basically chose to keep FJax over Lynch. In hindsight, not such a good move. To be fair to the Bills though, Lynch did not want to be here any longer.

I expect the Bills to keep 6 WRs at this point, possibly 7, but only if that seventh player is B. Smith. SJ/Woods/Graham/Goodwin are all virtual locks at this point, barring injury. D. Rogers still needs to prove himself, but his size/speed/hands/youth/potential are too great to cut him, especially for a team that is going with the youth movement. Easley showed me that he can be a consistent pass catcher. He is another big, athletic WR who can outmuscle a lot of the CB competition. If he can continue to win the inside position on his pass routes he will likely make the team as the #6 WR. B. Smith is the wildcard, especially now that he has taken a significant pay cut. Smith is extremely valuable because he can contribute to the team in so many ways. He is a coach's dream for that reason and will be very difficult to cut when determining roster spots #51, #52, and #53. FB F. Summers will play a big role in the final decision more so for his ST contributions than anything else. If he continues to play and block the way that he has on ST (he was the guy who was springing Goodwin for the long runs) he could force his way onto the roster as player #53. At this point, I could see the Bills taking Rogers/Smith/Summers ahead of Easley because Rogers and Easley are essentially the same body type with Rogers having a higher ceiling. Easley faces an uphill battle for those reasons.

The coaches have to assess each QB's entire body of work, not just how they play in one preseason game. EJ obviously has the highest upside of the three QBs in camp, and therefore, will garner the most reps and opportunity to prove himself as the starter. Kolb is a lot better than many people on this board give him credit for..........but he has to find a way to stay healthy so that he can get the reps that he needs to properly show what he can do. I've seen Tuel play in college and now in the pros. He was a stud in college and broke a lot of D. Bledsoe's records at Wash. St. He is legit. it was surprising that he went undrafted. But now you're putting him up against a guy like Manuel who has a lot of things going for him. I'm not ready to say that Tuel should be taking reps away from Manuel and Kolb just yet based upon his play vs 3rd and 4th stringers and a Colts defense that was vanilla by design and not generating much pressure. I am very happy though that we have him on our side and have time to develop him. Manuel is the guy you should be rooting for because he can make all of the throws and he can be a serious running threat as well. He also appears to have the leadership and charismatic skills to not only lead the offense, but the entire team. In order to speed up his progress though he needs to take as many reps as possible. I will root for all three QBs, but I think Manuel gives us the best chance to be an elite level team. Think Cam Newton, but much better leadership/charisma.

Tuel was outstanding today. the apparent fumble for a Colts TD didn't appear to be a fumble to me. I thought Easley played well. He was consistently getting inside position, making catch after catch, and has great size.

Now that we're a few weeks into training camp let's take a look at how the roster is taking shape. Who is rising to the top?? This is how I see things at this point in time. The preseason games will obviously have a huge impact. Surprises: OT Welch, RB Gaskins, NT Ross, NT Troup, LB C. White. These guys may be on the bubble, but their chances look pretty good at this point. Pos. Starter Backup Reserve Reserve X T.J. Graham Marquise Goodwin TE Scott Chandler Lee Smith Chris Gragg LT Cordy Glenn Thomas Welch LG Colin Brown C Eric Wood Doug Legursky RG Kraig Urbik Sam Young RT Erik Pears Chris Hairston Y Robert Woods Brad Smith Z Stevie Johnson Da'Rick Rogers QB EJ Manuel Kevin Kolb RB C.J. Spiller Fred Jackson Tashard Choice Kendall Gaskins DT Kyle Williams Alex Carrington Alan Branch NT Marcell Dareus Jay Ross Torell Troup RE Mario Williams Jerry Hughes Jamie Blatnick SLB Manny Lawson Marcus Dowtin MLB Kiko Alonso Arthur Moats Chris White WLB Nigel Bradham Bryan Scott RCB Stephon Gilmore SS Aaron Williams Da'Norris Searcy Jonathan Meeks FS Jairus Byrd Duke Williams NCB Ron Brooks Nickell Robey LCB Leodis McKelvin Justin Rogers K Dustin Hopkins P Shawn Powell LS Garrison Sanborn

There are so many new players. We could have as many as 22 new players on the final 53 man roster. Obviously, I can't wait to see EJ play in a Bills uniform. I mostly want to see if he belongs and if he acts like he belongs. I want to see if he is a pure/accurate passer and whether he has the athleticism to avoid the rush and also be a potential runner (a la V. Young in his hey day). Outside of EJ I think the player I'm most interested in seeing is Alonso because of the impact that he can make on the defense this year. But really, there are so many players to watch. Goodwin appears to be much better than expected. D. Rogers looks like he could stick. Gaskins has a realistic shot. Gotta see Kolb/Woods/Graham/Legursky/C. Brown. Spiller is ready to be a superstar. Gotta see how F. Jackson looks. On defense, Carrington is tearing it up. Gotta see Dareus/Troup/Ross and Bradham/Lawson/Hughes. My boy Blatnik has a real shot. Gotta see N. Robey and D. Williams/Meeks as well.

Buffalo now has $21.8 million in cap room for the 2013 season (per NFLPA records) after Brad Smith wisely decided to restructure his contract. This figure also includes the recent additions of D. Caldwell and T. Hills. I'm hoping this means that Whaley will consider adding more veteran FAs as we progress towards the start of the season. Now that Smith no longer has the overly large contract I think he makes the final roster as the #5 or #6 WR/#3 QB/primary KR/backup PR/punt team gunner/KO team gunner. he's a pretty valuable guy to say the least.