uncle flap

I'm just happy he didn't go to the Pats* or the Jets.

I'm hoping David Lee's "WildBill" has FJ taking the snaps with Spiller in the backfield and Brad Smith split out wide. Put Smith in motion so FJ is essentially the QB in a triple option. The possibilities are endless: FJ keeps it. FJ hands off to Spiller. FJ pitches/hands off to Smith. If Smith gets the ball on the end-around he also has the option to pass. And we all know FJ can throw it too: http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-cant-miss-plays/09000d5d81433126/WK-10-Can-t-Miss-Play-Wildbill

UGH I HATE THEM ALL SO MUCH.

Allow me... The fallacy is that you're defining "value" after the fact. Correct me if I'm wrong, but PTR's point is that pundits and draft "experts" place a "value" relative to where they believe they might be/should be drafted. But ultimately it doesn't really matter because it is up to the GM and coaches to determine a player's potential and actual value to their particular team. So in the case of Troup, obviously the Bills felt he was "valuable" enough select at that pick and not risk losing him and perhaps another player that was targeted for the next round. Yes, you can argue that so far the Bills might have been mistaken. But we don't (and the Bills couldn't) know that Troup wouldn't be selected 5 picks later, much less the next round. "Everyone said so," but how could they know since the Bills already picked him? I'm not arguing it was a good pick because I don't really think it was, but I'm saying picks are good or bad depending on how the player ultimately performs, not where they were picked. Terms like "value," "steal" and "reach" don't actually mean anything substantial because they are defined by an arbitrary scale that isn't actually used by the teams making the selections. Players are picked by teams using their own respective criteria, which is not the same as the criteria used by Kiper et al. Get it? Apples and oranges here. "Value" in terms of draft position predictions and "value" in terms of actual value to the team are two different things.

excellent post! ALL of this is true, however I'd argue that the crummy defense had a lot more to do with Fitz's struggles than the injuries to the OL and WR. With the Bills defense handing out points like candy and their inability to get off the field in the latter half of the year, not only does fitz have to pass more, he has to pass DOWNFIELD more, which already isn't a strength of his. The offense needs to get big chunks of yards fast, and can't afford to sprinkle in the draw plays and quick outs/drags that consume more time than they are worth in a comeback situation. So now you can no longer play to your strengths (short, quick passing and misdirection runs) AND the opposing defense knows it. Despite pulling off comebacks early in the year, the 2011 Bills were not built to comeback (read: score points quickly). That said, DEFENSE remains my biggest concern going forward. However, the FO has obviously realized this and switched schemes, promoted Wanny, and added Mario and Anderson. Seems to me the Bills are doing all the right things in addressing my biggest concern which makes me a happy fan! Can't wait for the draft! LET'S GO BILLS!

wow! that block he threw on the fitz scramble! wish it could've been showcasing a game they won tho

Wait a sec... they can't "win now" with spiller? I love Fred and freely admit he is the better player TODAY. However, Spiller is really freakin good too. So in fantasy land where I have to pick one (despite them both being under contract for at least this season), I pick CJ. Win now AND later.

If anyone's interested, here's a W/L poll I started just before FA kicked off - 2012 Opponents With a relatively soft schedule, I predicted 10-11 wins. Since then, Miami has gotten worse, the Jets' addition of Tebow spells doom for an already fragile locker room, and the Pats* addition of Lloyd pales in comparison to the Bills' upgrades on the D line. Originally, I thought the Bills might be able to push for a wildcard spot, but now I really think this can be the year the Bills overtake NE* as the class of the AFCE!!!

IT IS ABOUT WINNING. Stadium lease will be renewed. Albany stands to gain too much in tax revenue for it not to happen. The terms of the lease may change but the signing has no impact other than a talking point for local politicians and pundits who have no real say in the matter. Selling more tickets is a by-product. This is a far cry from TO.

it isn't already?? but yeah that an awesome scenario!!

whatever the pick at #10 is, I'd still like to see an LT signed. could possibly be moved to RT if they wind up with a stud in the draft. I'd target Lawson - i think he's easily the best fit for the Bills D and better than the rest still available. Plus, they need bodies. Not sure how Wanny plans on using Scott, but I have to think almost none of the guys playing OLB last year fit in his 4-3. Merriman, Kelsay, Moats, Spencer Johnson, Carrington, and probably even Batten are going to be penciled in as DEs. Aside from Barnett, the other LBs fit much better as MLB. There's no WRs left that would automatically be #2 across from SJ, so I'd wait and draft someone and hope they can beat out easley, DoJo, et al and as far as worrying about $ - Nix has shown me he's got a plan and at this point i trust his judgment. now show me the freakin baby!

i remember something like that too, although it may have been the state troopers/security/local PDs as the catalyst for that statement re: bills fans in general partying too hard for too long and causing subsequent bad behavior, including drunk driving and increased fighting, etc. IMO that's a stupid reason to deprive the entire fanbase of an opportunity to be in the natl spotlight. i'm all for safety and everything, but if that is in fact the reason for a reluctance to host prime time games - i'd prefer more proactive approach designed to corral the bad behavior itself, not eliminate the opportunity for it to occur at the expense of everyone else. unless of course you/they believe it is the majority of those those in attendance who are the problem...

The Bills are facing off against the AFC South and the NFC West. http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/nfl-announces-2012-opponents-for-each-team-010212 Of course I realize most teams are going to be significantly different by the time the season starts... but I'm a little bored with the same FA and draft thread topics, so I thought I'd throw this out there to hopefully keep us busy until 4pm on Tues. at home: JAX TENN KC STL SEA MIA NE NYJ away: HOU INDY CLE ZONA SF MIA NE NJ I think the Bills have a good chance of taking care of business at home. I don't think it's crazy to expect 7 or 8 wins. I also think MIA and NYJ on the road are winnable. Add in CLE and IND and I'm thinking the Bills have a good shot at 10-11 wins. That ought to get them in at least wild card contention. So, what do you guys think? Are there any games you're ready to pencil in as Ws? or is it really too early? I'd also be interested to hear what you think might be the difference in some of the closer match ups, i.e. if team x signs/drafts so and so, we don't stand a chance, and vice versa. (There, I threw in some FA/Draft speculation for you! )

just looking at the FA pool, there arent 3 other players that would have as much of an impact together as mario would alone.

i chose other. im thinking maybe after FA shakes out floyd makes the most sense. if not, OT, probably martin

Winning is the coolest thing they could do.

got it. that makes sense. good news indeed!

do you mean aren't planning to use the franchise tag? if not, i don't understand your reasoning...

please let this mean this year will be different! Does this signal Nix has more say than GMs typically do under Ralph's watch? man the koolaid hasnt tasted this good in a while...

skimmed thru... just like wanny said recently, the pass rush MUST be generated by the front 4. the LBs and DBs are likely to be in zone coverage most of the time. looks like blitzes will come from the safeties more often than the LBs. outside of redzone situations, it doesnt look like there will be a lot of man to man coverage. that said, the alignments are such that there is flexibility to call 2 deep man coverage often enough. i wonder how true this will ring to what wanny has up his sleeve for this year. one thing's for sure - running this type of defense and NOT generating pressure from the front 4 would allow a QB to pick the zone coverage apart. before someone calls me a moron for something i overlooked or whatever- remember i just skimmed it and i'm not a pro football player, so maybe my interpretation is off... EDIT: oh yeah, thanks Dr. D! that was a nice find

i assume on the actual test, there are a lot more of the easier rapid fire ?s that should take 2 or 3 seconds or not much more. on the sample - i would say 9 of the 12 questions take only a few seconds apiece. 3 of them took a little more time each to read and do the math. you've got 75% of ?s taking at most about 25%% of your time in the sample. that ratio is probably the same for the actual test. what i'm saying is you get less time extrapolated because there's more easy questions. i think the total time is adjusted as such. they aren't measuring time per ? equally.

THIS. it seems to me that the time constraints help measure confidence and decisiveness just as much as the content of the questions measure intelligence. it really is more akin to playing jeopardy than taking the SAT or an IQ test. scoring well not only shows you know your stuff, but that you are confident in your ability to get it right and move on. perhaps it says something about being cool under pressure, too, but i remain unconvinced that the wonderlic by itself is all that valuable as an indicator of football success.

i never thought i'd hear the senator sounding like a 99%er! OCCUPY THE NFL!!!

http://espn.go.com/blog/afceast/post/_/id/38785/walkers-fab-40-nos-1-4 this guy obviously has no idea what he's talking bout. i mean, where's garrison sanborn?!!?!?!?

the year is 1959. ralph chooses cincinnati instead of buffalo.