hondo in seattle

This is like arguing with people to change their minds on the eve of an election. It's too late. Minds are already made up. We've all got our own views of Rex and at this point no additional rhetoric is going to change any thing. This season will decide who's right and who's wrong. Until then, all arguments are just hot air.

If not for the looming suspensions and suspicions about Shady's injury (is it an ankle? a lingering hammy?), I'd be extremely confident in our stable of backs. Even as it is, I'm not desperate for the bills to sign another back. We have good depth. It'll be an interesting battle for roster spots.

It seems like there's been a lot of chatter about our rookies. Shaq and his injury... Ragland and his potential to be a thumper... Cardale and his raw long-term potential... Jonathon Williams, his underrated potential and DUI... Listenbee and his speed... Seymour, his eyesight and ability to surprise... Oddly A. Washington doesn't seem to get talked - or written - about as much as his 2016 rookie classmates. Yet he's a projected starter. I suppose given his history with women of a certain profession, it's good he's staying out of the limelight.

While his concerns for his health are poignant, this was the excerpt from his article I enjoyed the most: What I will probably miss more than anything else is God’s play: Power. It’s a gap-scheme play in which I immediately place myself in position with the guard next to me. I hit the end-man on the line of scrimmage (either a defensive end or a linebacker) on my third step. And it’s at that moment that my guard and I both know that it’s over. We take the defensive lineman off his feet, drive him off of the ball and create a cavern of a running lane. It is a magical, perfect experience that exemplifies what teamwork — not to mention kicking ass — is all about. You gotta love warriors. Good article - nice explanation of his love of football and exit from it.

I certainly don't consider Rex one of the NFL's elite coaches. But after reading Collision Low Crossers, it's clear Rex is a bright guy who thinks a lot about what he does. And he's got other bright guys on his coaching staff. While we can argue about Rex's record as a defensive guru, Rex has never before sunk a defense before like he did this one. Needless to say, that caused a lot of reflection. And what we've been hearing from both coaches and players is that there's already visible changes this year.

Those games were painful to watch.

I live in Seattle so I never saw much of the Jills anyway. I'm pretty much in agreement with the sentiment that cheerleaders at NFL games are mostly relics of a bygone era. Then again, cheerleaders do some nice community outreach stuff. When I was stationed in Korea, the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders once showed up in a helicopter (that I had arranged) to entertain us soldiers out in the field. That was pretty cool and good for morale. It was especially cool when one of the soldiers in my platoon shockingly recognized one of the girls as an old high school friend.

I'm reasonably optimistic about the Bills D this year. I think to a greater extent than last season, Rex has both the coaches and players he wants. And I think Rex has learned from last season's mistakes and will make productive adjustments. And the chances are we'll be healthier this year than last (cross my fingers!). I'm feeling pretty good about the D. But I won't go as far as NFL.com writer Elliot Harrison... Buffalo Bills: Rex Ryan's team ends Seattle's run as the NFL's stingiest scoring defense. Rex Ryan says the Bills won the offseason. I was under the impression that everyone gets a participation trophy (usually wood with a gold-colored foil plate that says "participant") for the offseason. I am OK with saying Buffalo won the draft, however. The Bills picked up two pass rushers and an inside linebacker in Reggie Ragland who is capable of starting Week 1. Throw in an under-the-radar corner in sixth-round pick Kevon Seymour -- as well as the departure of the disgruntled Mario Williams -- and voila: You have a retooled defense. The Seahawks have led the league in points allowed four consecutive years, a record in the modern era. It has to end some time. That Tom Brady will be suspended for the Week 4 trip to New England certainly helps the cause. The theme of the article is bold predictions for each team. Elliott went big with Buffalo. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000675407/article/nfl-bold-predictions-going-out-on-a-limb-with-each-afc-team

Agreed.

I guess it's reassuring that at least one other team rated highly the same players we rated highly. At this point, I don't really care. We have who we have, I just hope they perform.

Stat geeks are good at analyzing past performance but I wonder how good they are at projecting future performance. How does PFF know how Rex will evolve his defense? How Roman will evolve his offense? How injured players like Woods will rebound this year? Or how young players like Miller might progress this year? I'm not convinced that PFF's acumen with statistics necessarily makes them good prognosticators.

Good stuff. Bucky lists non-entity Dri Archer's refusal to report as one of the things that leads him to conclude the Bills won't make the playoffs. "In this offseason alone, Stephon Gilmore threatened to hold out unless he was given a new contract, Dri Archer refused to report for offseason activities after the Bills plucked him off waivers and Henderson’s agent complained about the Bills’ failure to reach out to the tackle while he recovered from a serious illness. Don’t count me among the doubters. I fully expect the Bills to miss the playoff yet again." Bucky, of course, is the same guy who wanted us to cut McCoy after the barroom incident but before the Bills, police, or anyone else actually investigated what really happened. If Bucky controlled the roster, Gillislee would be our starting RB right now.

I do think off-the-field behavior should matter. From a business perspective, the knuckleheads doing drugs and beating their wives unarguably damage the image of the NFL. The leaders of the NFL have an obligation to protect that image. And, in fact, arrests of NFL players has declined since the NFL starting getting tough with off the field behavior. From a societal perspective, these young men are role models whether they wish to be or not. Kids look up to them. I'd like the children of America to have good role models. Asking NFL players to all be choir boys is too much. But it is reasonable to ask them not to break the law, at a minimum. I read about him. His sister supports him. It seems like everyone who knows him, backs him. But what a huge PR challenge!

The contract isn't great but the Bills did what they had to do. We didn't have a franchise QB at the time (and, arguably, still don't). We didn't even have an established starter. With no franchise QBs on the market, DW did the next best thing and got us a franchise RB. We needed someone to build an offense around.

I think Clayton is an intelligent guy, actually, but there's no defending him here. Suggesting TT will be a Bronco next year is just plain dumb. Keeping track of 32 teams is difficult. So many of the national media guys resort to studying the perennial powerhouses in some detail while just keeping up with the rest in a cursory way. They're rarely insightful when it comes to the Bills.

I've never done that. And I truly mean: Never. I'm not much of a drinker and when I do drink, I have a plan that keeps me from getting behind a wheel. It's not that hard.

A one year trend isn't a trend.

Brees doesn't rise to Flutie's level of arrogance. Not even close. Personally, they don't remind me of each other as players or as men. But to each their own.

McCoy is healthy and we still have capable backups even if we don't sign a FA. Our running game will be fine during KW's suspension. Still, it's disappointing to lose the services of a guy who did so well in his rookie year. Not just a capable backup - KW looked like a dynamic change-of-pace complement to Shady. And it's hard not to be amazed at what a knucklehead this guy is. So many boys and young men dream of the NFL. Think about that kid with the sign in front of OBD saying he'll do anything just for a chance. And then you see KW not taking his opportunity seriously.

Diehard, I respectfully call b*llsh*t on this. I'm 57 and have never driven impaired. I'm sure lots of other people have never driven impaired. Driving impaired is reckless. Many, many years ago I was at my older brother's son's b-day party. Around 8pm, my brother's best friend loaded his family into their car. Several minutes later we saw the ambulance rush by. A drunk driver ran through a stop sign and smashed into my brother's friend's car. My brother's friend was killed as were 2 of his 3 beautiful children. After experiencing that, I could never drive after drinking and would never let anyone else drive impaired. I'm all in favor of the "witch hunt" for drunk drivers. None of us has the right to unnecessarily jeapardize the lives of innocent people. I wouldn't feel much sympathy for JW if he was harshly punished for this. I hope he learns a valuable lesson.

Players injured in the off-season is not uncommon. Having starters injured before the season begins is not uncommon. We have a backup RB who's overweight. Another backup RB may receive a short suspension. Our best WR has an injury that will probably be healed before the season begins. And a draft pick - who may or may not have earned a starting position - will miss part of the season. The setbacks the team has experienced this year are unfortunate but I think it's way too early to proclaim the sky is falling.

They may be 'human interest' stories rather than hard journalism but I like this stuff. Dunne is helping us get to know the guys on the roster better than ever before. At least we learn new things from Dunne. I don't recall ever learning anything new from Sully. All you get from him is his negative slant on things already publicly known.

It doesn't seem to me like this off-season is particularly atypical. A guy with a weight problem, a couple guys with injuries, a 5th round pick with police troubles... We have 90 young men on the roster right now. What are the chances that they'd all be happy, healthy, and trouble-free?

"Easy" is a relative term. And it's easier to be safe with the ball when you're not asked to win games, only not to lose them. Clearly last year the Bills relied on their rushing attack and didn't throw a lot. But in the end, I agree with you Erik. Taylor was very good at what he was asked to do as his stats demonstrate: high completion percentage, few picks, great TD:INT ratio. You have to wonder, though, can he do more this year if needed? If we find ourselves in a game where we're unable to run the ball, will we be able to rely on TT to move the ball and put points up throwing on almost every down?

I'm in this camp. I don't think the comparisons to Byrd are accurate. Byrd seemed to be in the right place at the right time - but was certainly not in the right place all the time. However many picks he collected, he was out of position (or just plain beat) more often. Gilmore, on the other hand, is truly good at his position. Him and Darby ought to make an awesome tandem this year. It'll be fun to watch. Losing Gilmore would hurt the Bills far more than losing Byrd.