hondo in seattle

From NFL.com... Clinton Portis thinks there's one absolute winner in this blockbuster running back for defensive player trade. "I don't see Kiko Alonso turning out to be a J.J. Watt or a Ray Lewis, just dominating this conference," Portis said Wednesday on NFL AM. "Maybe he does, but I don't see it. It'll be hard to do. The Billsreally won in this trade and I know for LeSean McCoy, there's some aggravation in being traded, you feel like you've done so much for a city, but you have an opportunity to go to a team that wants you, play for Rex Ryan, a guy you know will run the ball." He added: "This is a trade I really don't understand. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000476309/article/clinton-portis-the-bills-really-won-this-trade "

So Cassel throwing the ball and Shady running the ball behind an improved line in a Rex Roman offense? Combined with a Top Ten ST unit and a Top Five defensive unit. Life could be worse. I'd still like to see us acquire another offensive lineman or two, and a TE. Btw, Cassel's career QB rating is about the same as Orton's and higher than Sanchez's.

Well we needed a veteran QB on the roster though I can't say I'm excited. Surprised to see he has a lifetime 80.1 QB rating. It's not Tom Brady but it's higher than I thought it would have been. I hope EJ learned a lot last year and he'll be good enough to beat out Cassel. In other words, my big hope is that EJ is actually good in 2015 and we won't need to start Cassel.

I feel bad for CJ, too. He's been a team player and class act since we drafted him. Spiller has a unique set of strengths and weaknesses. Gailey knew how to make maximal use of those strengths. Marrone used Spiller mostly as if he were just another back. Roman is smart with the run game. I was hoping for another 1,000 yard season from Spiller with a 6.0 ypc average. But I'm sure Whaley vetted this trade with the coaches and they decided they could do more and better things in Roman's scheme with Shady. If the Jests weren't in the AFCE, I would hope Spiller would reunite with Gailey. I'd like to see CJ be successful again somewhere - as long as it doesn't hurt the Bills.

Shady is a PA kid and has lived in Pennsylvania his entire life. His friends and family are all there. And I'm sure the trade came as a shock. I don't blame him for being unhappy. I'm sure he'll adjust to a new reality. Being the workhorse in a Rex/Roman ground-and-pound offense can't sound like a bad thing once he does a little research. Roman has a reputation for drawing up plays that give backs holes to run through. And Rex's former players almost universally like/love him. Personally, I'd be happy to move back to Buffalo (or move to any NFL city), if someone was going to pay me millions per year. Shady will be fine with the trade eventually.

I think Whaley sees us on the cusp of playoff contention. Our 9-7 record last year bears that out. So he feels a sense of urgency. He's hungry to make the playoffs this season so he'll work overtime and make bold deals to get us there. I think he's happy with the defensive roster overall. And we did well on special teams last season (I'm guessing DW will resign Easley). But DW knows Rex and Roman need more offensive weapons. Since no franchise QBs are available, DW went out and got us a franchise RB. He knows we're going to need a great running attack to balance what might be a weak passing attack. Toward this end, DW signed Incognito, traded for a RB, and I'm guessing he's going to get another FA OL. I was not a fan of trading up for Sammy but mostly I like what Whaley is doing. (Humbly noting that neither I nor most anyone else here know 1/100th about NFL personnel that DW knows. But as a fan, it's more fun to have an opinion anyway).

Although I like this trade, it is odd that we traded for a RB when this draft is supposed to be deep in RBs. Then again, Shady is elite. When you don't have an elite QB, you need an elite RB. That's an interesting thought. If I'm a FA QB, I'm probably noticing a few things... * The Bills have a couple good, young wideouts. * The Bills have a great D. I won't have to win games single-handedly. * I'll have an elite RB lining up behind me - opposing defenses will have to respect the run. * Rex Ryan and Greg Roman have good reputations. * The Bills were 9-7 last year. They should be contending for the playoffs this season. The problem, of course, is that there aren't any good FA QBs.

This is spot on. We can't count on EJ suddenly demonstrating he's a franchise QB. There's certainly no QB available in the draft or in free agency who we would want to build a passing attack around. So there's a huge sense of urgency at OBD to build up our run game. They hired Incognito despite the baggage. And they just traded away an up-and-coming LB to acquire an elite RB. It's imperative Whaley do these things. We have a playoff caliber defense. Now we have to find ways to manufacture some offense which, given the QB situation, means we must make bold moves to create an effective run game.

I love the "Legend of Kiko." But Kiko was great the first half of his rookie season and then sat out his sophomore year with an injury. He's hoping to develop into a Pro Bowler some day. Shady is already a Pro Bowler - three times over. Who knows what the future holds but their resumes aren't even close. I voted McCoy.

How did Kiko do in 2014? So far, we've paid Kiko for two years of work and he's given us one. That's not good ROI. I like Kiko but we have a paucity of talent on offense and an excess of talent on defense. And if we can't establish a running attack in 2015, we're screwed.

I really like Kiko but Gugny is absolutely right. I think most personnel guys will privately say Kelly's hubris got the better of him on this one. In the years ahead, we may see that Shady's best years were already behind him while Kiko might develop into a perennial pro bowler. But right now I see that we traded a promising LB coming off an injury for a superstar RB. Another thought is that we didn't miss Kiko last year and - without a franchise QB - we truly need to run the ball this year. Just looking at 2015, who do you think will add more to our win column? Kiko or McCoy? I say it's McCoy.

I hope Shady tips more than twenty cents at the Big Tree Inn. I want to like my Buffalo Bills.

I can see how Philly hates it. Seems like Chip Kelly nepotism acting up again. How do you trade your most productive offensive weapon away for a LB? Any LB? Let alone for a LB who only has a promising rookie season under his belt and missed all of last season to a torn ligament! Maybe someone should go on their message boards and console them by telling them about the Legend of Kiko.

Yeah, I'm a little sad, too. I liked both Kiko and CJ. I wondered what CJ could do in Greg Roman offense with - hopefully - an improved offensive line. (Of course I'm assuming the Bills will no longer attempt to resign CJ). And watching Kiko in a Rex Ryan defense would have been a blast. Yet, I can see why Whaley made the trade.

The one thing I don't like about this is that Kiko hasn't reached his peak yet and Shady may have already passed his. Who will be the better player over the next few years?

Surprising trade, for sure. But I don't get the anger. We had a great D last year without Kiko but an abysmal O. We're not likely to pass the ball very effectively this year so it's imperative we build up the ability to run the ball. Fred's getting old and CJ is a free agent with an indifferent record. While I'll miss Kiko, this trade makes loads of sense - at least for Buffalo. I don't get the "backs are a dime a dozen" argument. Backs are like any other position - there are good ones and bad ones and ones in-between. The good ones will help you win. Lynch, for example, was a big part of Seattle's success these past two years. Most other backs would not have propelled their offense the same way. McCoy is an elite back and he'll add more to our WIN column than Kiko would.

One the one hand, it was great to see Hughes blossom hear and produce back-to-back 10 sack seasons. On the other hand, he's lining up next to three Pro Bowlers. In that scenario, he ought to be successful. Since this lineup is working, I really want Whaley to resign him. Not tagging Hughes doesn't surprise me but I hope DW gives him a contract that makes him happy. But there's a limit to everything. We just can't pay every player what they think they're worth. One in 32 teams - some team desperate for sacks - might think Hughes is worth something crazy and that's all it takes for him to leave Buffalo. You can't blame Whaley for not overpaying every FA who leaves us.

Inaccuracy can be caused by many things. Maybe the kid just has poor hand-eye coordination (inferior genetics). That kind of inaccuracy cannot be cured. But other causes can potentially be fixed: * poor timing * poor mechanics * poor poise in the pocket (which leads to poor mechanics) * bad route running by the WRs * unfamiliarity with the speed & route tendencies of the WRs * poor progressions (you're more likely to complete the pass if you're throwing to the open guy) * and so on. The QB coach last year said EJ's biggest accuracy problem was in fact poor timing. Too often EJ was accurately throwing to where the guy was, instead of where he would be. Then again, I've seen EJ cleanly launch some long balls that were off target which makes me worry about his natural accuracy.

We've been hearing about EJ's soft demeanor for a while now. We've also heard that his 'accuracy' issues were more timing issues. Both problems seem correctable... but you never know until it happens. KtD is right. A NFL QB needs to master a lot of things. Some never learn how to master them all - or even enough of those skills to succeed as a starting QB. In EJ's case, I'm hoping for the best, fearing the worst.

It was a dumb play call because it didn't work. If it had worked, Carroll would have been hailed as a bold and daring genius. And the probability of the play working was reasonably high. Nonetheless, the probability of pounding Lynch up the middle a couple of times must have been higher.

The NFL is a league of opportunity. You create pockets of excellence where you can. There are no big money QBs available. We have the cash. Why not spend it on an elite CB that will make our good defense even better? Of course, it depends on the cost. If Revis is so pricey we lose the opportunity to sign Hughes and another OG, I say no. But we'd be foolish not to check this out.

Josh McCown, Shaun Hill... I don't think we can realistically expect better at this point. We need a mediocre veteran to compete with EJ because the good vets are tied up. I'm really hoping EJ steps up this season. If not, we'll have to live a with a Dlifer-esque, game-managing veteran.

Regarding Bryce Petty, I've seen draft gurus predicting as high as the 2nd round for him, and as low as the 7th round. One man's trash is another man's treasure, I guess. I really find it hard to imagine any scenario where the majority of us here on OBD are happy with the QB situation when training camp starts. Looking at the NFL QBs who could be traded or released, and the kids in the draft, there is no consensus answer out there that we'd all agree to be excited about. It's not necessarily what I hope for but my guess is that EJ will be under center opening day.

We really don't have enough we-need-to-find-a-QB threads. Can we start more?

Cleveland beat us out for McCown because they were more desperate than us. Their only QB is in rehab and looked horrible last year. They effectively didn't have a QB until they overpaid McCown. Trading is unlikely to solve our problem. As a general rule, teams don't trade away franchise QBs. So we're screwed. But maybe not. We're probably going to field an elite defense this year. Hopefully, Crossman can keep our STs in the top five. Incognito and maybe another FA or draft pick will give us a better OL. Greg Roman will certainly improve the running game. And then we hope that we can Dilfer our way into the playoffs. I don't think it's an unreasonable hope.