hondo in seattle

If we fans weren't allowed to criticize people smarter than us, what else would we have to do?

Which is why he's a better coach now than he was for the Brownies. Coaches (and GMs) have learning curves too.

Supposedly Thurman said it's not just a matter of the next guy stepping up, there would be schematic changes with Ragland out for the year. Rex is paraphrased in the article linked above saying that Spikes is a true Mike linebacker which could limit the team schematically. They clearly have different strengths and weaknesses but how much would the D need to change schematically with Hawthorne or Z. Brown?

Why do we beat up on our own??? As Bills fans, we're supposed to love all Bills players and hate all Pats players. It's almost as if we blame the current roster (and coaches and staff) for 16 years of futility. Personally, I'm really hoping Goodwin stays healthy this year and torches a few opposing AFCE DBs.

I agree. He was overrated by some as a quarterback but he's a better man than many other NFL players.

What's the exact quote? It is a scary statement. But it's hard to imagine a NFL team making scheme changes because their second round draft pick got hurt in preseason.

Yeah, that does suck. But, to me, the fate of the 2016 season lies on the shoulders of Rex more than anyone else - certainly more on his shoulders than on the shoulders of draft picks. If Rex makes the appropriate adjustments, this D will be good. The second most important guy is TT. If he steps up the way we all hope he will, this O will be good.

It really sucks whenever you lose your top two draft picks to injury before the season even starts. But I never expected Shaq and Ragland to be the saviors of this defense. I'm not sure how well I expected them to play at all. They're rookies, after all. If anyone is going to turnaround this defense, it's Rex. 2014 demonstrated how much talent we have. 2015 demonstrated how much coaching matters. If Rex learned the right lessons, this season's D will be good with or without Shaq and Ragland. If the Rex did not, this season will be a disappointment with or without our top two draft picks.

Didn't Tebow turn down opportunities to play a position other than QB? But now he's hoping for an opportunity to play a sport other than FB? It seems like an odd, impractical way of thinking.

I used to live next door in San Ramon. Great area! Danville is certainly located Northern California as defined by Californians. Danville is also home, I believe, of Captain Sullenberger - the pilot that Clint Eastwood is soon releasing a movie about, starring Tom Hanks as Sully. San Francisco is the unofficial capital of NorCal while LA is the unofficial capital of SoCal.

Tebow doesn't win. But he was lucky enough to play on winning teams. Denver's defense won the games Tebow started. Tebow remarkably completed less than half of his NFL passes (47.9%) and his career passer rating is 3 points below EJ's. But he's a good guy and I hope him success. I once drove by the hospital he built in Davao (Philippines). He's a classy, generous human being.

What I think is curious is how often Roman used 2 back sets in San Francisco and how infrequently he used them here despite the presence of Felton. Erik covers this but still a surprise to me.

Sums up my own thinking pretty accurately. I hope both Shaq and Reggie recover quickly and excel this year. But while they sit, I think we're fine. Both are rookies, after all.

I'm not sure what tweaks I expect from Roman this year. Instead I have a question regarding this quote from Erik: "Most statistics tracked by the NFL are solely based on yardage gained/loss etc. Football Outsiders takes into account the context of the yardage gained or loss such as down and distance (weighted offense). So, their stats more accurately reflect how an offensive or defensive unit performed." Does FO's stats really more accurately reflect how an offense or defensive unit performs??? Sometimes the analytics guys get too fancy. Yards gained is a great measure because football is a game about field position and scoring. And to score you need to march up and down the field. Yards gained is a simple stat that measures something important. Sometimes, though, I think yards per drive might be a better measure. A defense forced on the field a lot because of their anemic offense ought not to be punished in the rankings. Others make good arguments about why scoring is a better metric than yards. What makes FO's stats even better? Do they correlate with wins and losses any better? Back to Roman.... It's curious that Roman made some very different choices here than he did in SF. As Roman told John Kyrk, "You adapt or you die." Erik - another great, insightful article!

A rookie LB sprains his knee 2 months before the season opener and the sky is falling? I don't get it. How big is the difference between rookie Ragland and the next guy up? Big enough to convert every W into a L? Big enough to convert any W into a L? Will RR even miss a game? With or without Ragland, I expect this defense to finish somewhere between #5 and #10. Rex is a competent defensive coach. He has a staff of competent coaches and they have some good talent to work with. Rex modified his scheme since last year, players are communicating more... things will get better.

I wasn't expecting Ragland to be a Pro Bowler in his rookie year so I'm not sure how much his knee sprain dampens my enthusiasm. The D will be better because (1) Rex learned lessons from last year, and (2) the defensive players are both more knowledgeable and committed this year. The O will be better because it's the second year in Roman's system and TT's second year as a starter.

Good depth move. The more competition, the better. Had 3 productive years in Seattle. DH was not particularly productive in NO yet - presumably - Rob Ryan is okay with this signing.

Over the past two seasons: 51 to 24 TD to INT ratio, QB rating north of 90, 8000 yards. No one will confuse him with Brady, Rodgers or Brees but he's been quietly, unspectacularly productive.

NY Nole. It's posts like this that keeps TBD fans more informed than the national media when it comes to the Bills.

I can think of more guys I want to remove from the HOF than I want to induct. But I would add Don Coryell, Tony Dungy and Kurt Warner. And because I'm a homer, I'd also add Steve Tasker and Butch Byrd. It's sad to note that most AFL superstars (like Butch) are not in the HOF. Check this out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Football_League_All-Time_Team When you watched him play, did you feel like you were watching a HOF player? I didn't.

It's mostly our scrubs versus their scrubs. We have average scrubs. 2-2.

As a guy who likes history, I enjoyed this story. I had never heard of Jim Dyson before. I've heard speculation and stories suggesting the Bills were NOT named after Buffalo Bill Cody. I guess this article puts those theories to rest. "Dyson wrote a short essay envisioning the Bills as the frontier “posse” for Buffalo Bill Cody, who had killed thousands of bison on behalf of the railroads on the Great Plains."

Shocking how quickly he rose and then fell.

Dave Dameshank - reportedly the only man ever fired in favor of Danny Bonaduce - is probably more noted for his sports humor than his sports acumen. Still it's nice to get some love. I like Shady's skills too but he can cut better than Barry Sanders? Gale Sayers? OJ? Hmmmm....

Indeed. I've been humbled by your argument and have deleted my shameful post.