hondo in seattle

Doesn't reflect well on Naughtright: "People call me bumper because I have such big....." (she would say while shaking them).

Ha. That's true!

This is the best explanation. Even I can understand it.

I'd love to keep all our players. And I'd love the Bills to have a higher salary cap than the rest of the NFL with an allowable roster of 70 guys. But given the reality of the situation, this was a relatively painless way to save several million dollars. We lost a prima donna DE who didn't like or fit the system. We lost a good backup guard who's not starter quality. And we lost a RB who was solid on special teams but let's not start comparing him to Steve Tasker. We had to free up some cap space. Who would you have cut instead? Btw, I think John from Hemet's response is spot on.

Effectively, we played without Mario last year. How will his departure hurt us? Just having a guy in his position this season that actually cares will help team morale and esprit de corps. And the extra $12 million will allow us to sign someone better than the 2015 edition of MW. I'm bugged Rex couldn't convince Mario to care. But he couldn't, so releasing Mario is the right move.

Rex doesn't try to be a "Player's Coach." He tries to be an effective coach who brings out the best in his players. For him, loyalty and caring are elements of effective coaching. He's been called a "Player's Coach" because he listens and cares more than some other NFL coaches. Is that a bad thing? Many of his former players have stated that he succeeded in bringing out their very best. Then again, there have been some rumblings that he's been a little lax with discipline issues. Player's Coaches have won in the NFL (e.g. Pete Carroll) and disciplinarians have won in the NFL. Neither approach is necessarily bad. I'm not sure 'kicking butt' is a proven leadership technique, though I do worry sometimes if Rex is a little too understanding of performance issues sometimes. It's really hard to say because we're not in the locker room. We're not privy to the one-on-one conversations Rex (or his coordinators and position coaches) have with players.

Joe B. says we've already cleared up $23.3 million in cap space: "With Williams, Dixon, Urbik, and the restructure of Charles Clay, the Bills will have cleared $23.325 million in cap space for the 2016 season." http://www.wkbw.com/sports/bills/bills-release-mario-williams-save-129m-in-16 In either case, we've opened up a lot of money without hurting the team very much (if we assume Mario would have played this year like he did last year).

I had no emotional response when I saw the headline. This was a foregone conclusion. I thank him for the good years. Whether he could have excelled in Rex's system - and whether or not Rex misused him - I guess will remain subjects of debate. Whatever the reason, he sucked last season and needed to go.

The players (outside MW) aren't getting a lot of criticism for the simple reason that most of the performed well under Schwartz. Did they suddenly get old and stupid? Or did the coaching change have something to do with the drop in performance? When you try to analyze what went wrong last season, coaching is the obvious place to start.

I voted for TT as starter. Not in free agency, nor in the draft, is there a guy I'd rather have run this offense. TT did well for his first year as a starter and I want to see how far he can take his game in '16. And - with respect to all those who don't think EJ deserves to wear a Bills uni - I voted for EJ as backup. Despite his 10 minutes of infamy in London, I think in his career so far he's played like a competent 2nd stringer. I would, though, like to see the Bills acquire another QB to compete with EJ.

As mentioned in the NFL Network video, Rex needs better buy-in from the players. Does bringing in Cro - if the price was right -make sense from that point of view? Cro clearly believes in - and understands - Rex's D. Does Rex need a few players like that to get the D on track?

I don't disagree with hardly any of this. I'm just arguing against the point that a HC's future success is necessarily defined by his past W-L record. Belichick, despite all the qualities you see in him, failed with the Brownies. Levy did good things with the Bills despite failing in KC. If you look at yards/game, Rex has a great track record running defenses. If you look at pts/game, the record is mixed though I think his Ds were twice #1. He is kind of like both Belichick and Levy - both did some good things in their first HC opportunities but not enough to leave with a winning record. Like Belichick (who has Brady), Levy, and most other coaches, Rex wins when he has the right players, and loses when he doesn't. Could the second time be a charm for Rex, like it was for Levy and Belichick? I'm not confident, but I am curious.

Ruth Smeeth, one of the two MPs, used to be the director of an anti-racist organization called HOPE not hate ("For a modern, inclusive Britain"). Speaking out against a racist name is consistent with her established values - which I see it as a good thing.

Good post. Can you imagine a modern sports team picking a skin color as a moniker? San Francisco Yellowskins Atlanta Blackskins Boston Whiteskins These names wouldn't be accepted. Can't see why we should accept 'Redskin' either. And I'm not sure why the sins the British Empire committed in the past should prevent two MPs from taking a moral stand in the present. I think they make a valid point: "exportation of this racial slur ... directly contravenes the values that many in Britain have worked so hard to instill." Don't we want lawmakers to stand up for higher principles - to move civilization forward?

By that logic, the Bills should have never hired Marv Levy (31-42 at the time) nor should the Pats have hired Bill Bellichick (36-44 at the time). Both had worse winning pcts than Rex in their first gigs as NFL HCs and few would have said they were destined for greatness. Sometimes HCs learn and get better. Sometimes HCs are in disadvantageous positions with weak rosters. Personally, I see enough bright spots - and enough blemishes - in Rex's record that I can't feel very optimistic nor suicidally pessimistic. At this point, I'm solidly in the wait-and-see camp.

I wonder why any young man with NFL aspirations would choose to play FB in college?

Deja vu... I feel like I've read this BN article once before a long time ago.

“Obviously, I just played fullback in college, but actually at the Senior Bowl, I was playing a lot of H-back, fullback and they even had me out at slot receiver. I think I adjusted to it very well, so I think I can do more than just play fullback.” http://bills.buffalonews.com/2016/02/25/scouting-combine-notebook-gronkowski-can-do-more-than-play-fullback/

If the only people allowed to speak or act were the perfectly pure and virtuous, the world would be in trouble. Good causes need imperfect supporters.

C'mon, MGK, you know better than to source a few friends and then represent that as typical. And when you say you don't see a dip in jersey sales, do you actual monitor jersey sales? What are the numbers? According to a Cal State professor, 67% of Indians do feel the name is offensive. Your friends are in the minority. http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/06/04/67-percent-native-americans-say-redskins-offensive-155143 The National Congress of American Indians (the nation's largest intertribal advocacy organization) says the name is offensive. The American Indian College Fund, National Indian Child Welfare Association, National Indian Education Association, National Indian Youth Council, National Native American Law Student Association, Native American Journalists Association, and Native American Rights Fund have all said they think the name should be changed. The tribal councils of the Cherokee Nation, the Comanche Nation of Oklahoma, the Oneida Indian Nation of New York, the Navajo Nation, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe - among others - have all said the name is offensive and should be changed. The Inter Tribal Council of Arizona agrees. So does the Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes. I'm glad the Brits are raising the issue. The days of making excuses for racial epithets are ending.

Was Bucky Gleason just a little premature when he said a couple weeks ago the Bills should release Shady? http://bills.buffalonews.com/2016/02/09/bills-best-served-by-cutting-their-losses-with-mccoy/

"Carucci tweeted that someone with McCoy that night could be charged, but McCoy won’t be." http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/02/25/report-no-charges-for-lesean-mccoy/ If the stories are true, the cop who initiated the fracas ought to be charged. BTW, I just noticed that this was the OP's 6th post ever. And it's generated 116 pages so far!

I respect your point of view but his performance last year was scary bad. As you say, "maybe he now realizes..." Then again, maybe not. Every contract is a gamble but how big a gamble are we willing to make on a guy who played poorly last year essentially by choice? We currently have no cap money for FAs and draft picks. Under these circumstances, do we really want to commit millions to a maybe?

They're even covering this in the UK: https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/lesean-mccoy-case-may-hinge-182100384.html

PFF had Tyrod at #10 based on his performance last year. Everyone has an opinion. Some people back up their opinions with their favorite statistics and complicated algorithms. But no one really knows how well TT will play in 2016. Will he grow with the experience? Will he suffer a sophomore slump? Will a full preseason as the established starter allow Roman to build a passing attack better suited to his skill set? Stay tuned.