hondo in seattle

When I went to the army's Officer Candidate School, all but one of the candidates in my class were college grads. Some came from prestigious universities. So we laughed when an instructor told us that all training materials for enlisted soldiers were written at the 10th grade level. Then he told us that all officer training materials were written at the 12th grade level and that humbled us. He explained that to be effective, training has to make sense to everyone, not just to the best and brightest. Clarity for everyone is key. Even the least analytical player with the poorest memory needs to understand the scheme and know his assignment for each call.

Yeah, curious he replaced his agent at this point. Apparently the agent wasn't getting him what he wanted. To stay in Carolina???

Thanks for posting - I missed this too. I get how Rex would be conflicted. If I was a HC or coordinator, I'd want to out-scheme and out-smart my opponents. I could see myself falling into the trap of making things too complicated. But a lot of these players were not A students in college. And you want your D to make quick decisions and then act with aggression. Simple schemes executed with a high degree of violence and precision can be better than complicated schemes executed with self-doubt and confusion. The optimal balancing point between brilliant complexity and aggressive simplicity is tough to find. And it will vary from team to team, season to season, depending on the players. Rex has clearly reevaluated his defensive roster and is moving toward the simpler end of the continuum. Based on some of the things we've heard from the players and saw on the field last year, this is probably a wise move.

I'd rather be #1 on this list than #2 or #3. If we're going to be miserable, let's get some credit for it! Hopefully I live to see the day when we're not on this list at all.

While I'm a born and bred Bills fan originally from Cheektowaga, the Browns have been my second favorite NFL club since I was maybe 9 years old. Doubly cursed.

I'd love to bug DePodesta's phone. I wonder if he's rewritten the trade value chart yet. If not, I expect he will. I wonder what kind of analytics he's using this year to project the NFL performance of college players. Given all their needs, this seems like a good trade for the Browns despite their need for a QB. DePodesta may think there's a higher probability one of the mid-tier QBs will succeed in the NFL than Goff or Wentz. With all his picks (including #8), DePodesta can still grab a QB.

Actually, we're good. To slow Brady and adapt to the times, Rex is rolling out a new 3-1-7 scheme this season.

I recall Stevie Johnson not being in optimal shape because he didn't take the off-season seriously. I'd prefer Sammy in Buffalo wearing an ALL IN shirt. I'm hoping he's spending 6 hours/day in the gym where ever he is.

Rory Gallagher Iron City Houserockers

The political process in America is important. It's good for people to get involved. But as a leader, you shouldn't risk alienating members of your team by publicly supporting a political candidate, especially one this divisive. Trump doesn't poll well with minorities. Various polls among black voters show Trump's support ranging from 4-12%. I suspect Trump wouldn't poll well in the Bills locker room, Richie's support notwithstanding. When so many blacks - and others - consider Donald a racist, why would you risk damaging your connection with them by supporting him? When I was an army officer, the higher brass frowned on us making political statements. Publicly, we weren't Republicans or Democrats. We were simply Americans. Publicly, Rex shouldn't be a Trump or Clinton supporter. He should be a Bills supporter. http://www.factcheck.org/2016/02/trump-and-the-black-vote/

This is such an obvious point. And yet coaches often receive too much credit or too little. Dick Jauron, for example, was an uninspiring leader. But the poor guy did not have a very good roster to work with either. He was probably doomed from the beginning by the personnel department's failures. I think GRo did well with the players he had last year. But he needs to take a step forward this season.

Shame is the game is more or less sold out. So I'm going to spend $200+ per ticket on the off chance the Bills will win in Seattle. It would really suck to shell out that much money only to experience - in person - a devastating loss. The Hawks are something like 27-5 at CenturlyLink Field over the past 4 years. The cost and long odds are why I'd earn the right to gloat for years if the Bills did win.

My thoughts are a little different. There were games last year when our opponents clearly respected our run game but did not respect our passing game. Roman will always find ways to get yards on the ground. But to score points, we can't be one dimensional. We need to be able to throw long, short, outside and over the middle. We've got to make the opposing D defend the whole field. Dak could - if he ever actually lined up - help us with what we're already good at. He would not be a nice complementary piece offering a strength where we currently have a weakness.

It's probably not a matter of stupidity. He wants to look dogged/tenacious to his constituency - someone who will keep on fighting for them, even against long odds.

If memory serves, I predicted 10-6 and a playoff appearance last year. The QB situation worked out better than hoped. Greg Roman did the kind of job I expected from him. But I was surprised by the mess Rex made with the defense. So my expectations are more conservative this year: 8-8. I really hope my low expectations are wrong. And I really need us to beat the Hawks in Week 9. But I'm predicting mediocrity.

I can't wait till the Bills come to Seattle on November 7. If we lose that game, I'll hear crap for weeks. If we win, though, I'll dish it out for months. Maybe years.

Interesting how young some players retire these days.

Is there anyone in the beginning of the draft that DW is enamored with? And how would we know? DW's HC complained about thin depth. Clearly DW has taken the issue to heart this offseason but I don't think the project is complete. It's pure speculation, but I don't think Whaley will want to give up picks to move up in the draft.

Unfortunately, by far the team I'm most emotionally invested in is the Bills. Second, is not even close. The only other pro teams I follow at all are the Sabres and Browns. Neither has won a championship in my lifetime. And I'm not quite old enough to remember when the Bills were winning AFL championships. And, by the way, I'm a Purdue alum... not much going on there either. Staying out of airplanes with me is a good idea. My Seattle friends are glad I don't root for the Seahawks. Back to the Brownies, we all know baseball lends itself to analytics better than football. Yet isn't it possible that DePodesta unearths some statistical tendencies that personnel departments in the past have not noticed? What really is the relationship between a QB's hand size and cold-weather success? How important is an OT's arm length actually? Is the 40 yard dash meaningful at all? Is there a better way to measure functional speed? Stats have been part of the NFL forever. I'm not convinced teams are always measuring and talking about the right stats, though.

I think this is an interesting observation. I don't believe the story of the Pats success begins and ends with Brady.

I get this point of view. But there's another. Intoxicated (alcohol, drugs) drivers are probably to blame for the majority of fatal driving accidents. And health care costs get driven up by people who knowingly do unhealthy things because inevitably some of them don't have insurance and we end up paying when they eventually suffer the consequences. But do I think Gordon should be banned from football for a series of alcohol and marijuana violations? No. There's got to be some common sense applied.

While never a star, DeBerg is proof that QBs need time and game experience to develop. His first year under center, he completed a paltry 45% of his passes with a QB rating of 40. A couple years later when he played for the Chiefs (1988-91), a more mature DeBerg completed 58% with a rating of 81.8.

Apparently NFL.com thinks we're drafting a tackle. Their 5 different mocks all have us taking an OT or DT. » Daniel Jeremiah: Sheldon Rankins, DT, Louisville » Charles Davis: A'Shawn Robinson, DT, Alabama » Bucky Brooks: Jarran Reed, DT, Alabama » Lance Zierlein: Taylor Decker, OT, Ohio State » Chad Reuter: Sheldon Rankins, DT, Louisville Apparently they think we're relatively set at the skill positions and need help in the trenches. Another guy on our radar is: » Moritz Boehringer, WR, Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns: Bills attend workout It's about time we started mining the Unicorns! http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000644054/article/afc-east-draft-winds-rumors-connecting-players-nfl-teams

I admit I laughed when I read this. Good point. The first game I ever watched from beginning to end was a Browns - not Bills - game back during the 1968 playoffs. Their opponent was the Dallas Cowboys. This was when the Browns ruled the Century Division while the 'Boys were kings of the Capitol Division. Because the Browns were losing early, I rooted for them and they rallied to beat the 'Boys. I've had a soft spot for the Brownies ever since. It's obvious that I live under a curse when my favorite NFL team is the Bills and my next favorite is the Browns. I must have done something unspeakable in a previous life.

I agree with all this. DePodesta is smart - smart enough to understand football is a different beast than baseball. Innovation often comes with desperation. The Browns have never played in a Super Bowl and have earned a miserable 87-185 record since reestablishing the franchise in 1999. Why wouldn't the Browns try something new? It'll be an interesting experiment. But this is scary... HASLAM'S NEW COMMITMENT to Money(foot)-ball model evident in restructuring of Browns front office into Harvard West. DePodesta reports only to owner. Final say on 53-man roster now belongs to Sashi Brown, 39, fellow Harvard grad and Browns' former general counsel who worked on salary cap and player contracts. Brown, in turn, hired Harvard grad and former Colts pro scouting coordinator Andrew Berry, 28, to be Cleveland's VP of player personnel. Browns' top analytics mind, Ken Kovash, promoted to director of football research and player personnel. Fourth Harvard grad, Kevin Meers, is now team's head research analyst. In total, three of top four decision makers have no NFL scouting or roster-building experience. Cleveland brain trust now unlike anything else in football, which is exactly the point.