hondo in seattle

I'd sign Orton. Orton would need some time to learn the offense which would give EJ time to prove he's ready to step up. I'm not sure how long I'd wait but at some point if EJ wasn't producing, I'd hand things over to Orton (who is not a bad QB). Even if Orton didn't end up starting, he'd be a good mentor for EJ and an insurance policy if EJ got hurt.

Really? It's like me saying I know more about your work than you do. I used to be an army officer and was struck by the clueless arrogance of some of the correspondents reporting on military operations. They had no idea what they were talking about but pontificated with confidence. Marrone, Hackett, et al might not be geniuses. They might not be winners. But they sure as heck know more about NFL talent evaluation than anyone here. We have no idea what concerns the coaching staff are sharing with each other, or what schemes they might be devising to work around EJ's weaknesses. They're not going to talk about these things publicly of course.

Preseason is never the time to panic. We all remember Levy, Kelly and company going 0-4 in preseason in 1990. In fact, I don't believe the Bills ever had a winning preseason record during the SB years. Preseason is a time for vanilla offenses, vanilla defenses and talent evaluation. Not for panic. When Trent Green injured himself in a preseason game in 1999, Rams fans began to worry. Worry turned to panic when they turned the team over to a former stockboy with a 47.2 QB rating in his limited NFL action. And thus began "The Greatest Show on Turf" - which produced a victory in SB XXXIV. So I wait until we start screwing up in real games before I panic.

An exceptionally quick, athletic, poised QB could have got this to Fred. But the main problem here is the OL broke down and did not provide adequate protection. Hindsight is 20-20. Yes, EJ does seem to glance at Fred. But no QB will always make the perfect decision with a second or two to react when facing rapid unexpected pressure. This one play doesn't damn EJ. Lots of Hall of Fame QBs have made comparable errors.

Just to play devil's advocate, I'll chime in with Hogan because EJ will know where Hogan's going to be.

The Jags reportedly sold for $760 million a couple years ago. Buffalo is small market and the sale of the Bills involves a restrictive lease and restrictive NDA. And who knows what else the trust is requesting that might temper the bidding. Furthermore, we don't really know what anyone is bidding. Unnamed sources are reporting bids anywhere from $800 million to $1.3 billion. I don't think any part of this process is embarrassing to the NFL. In fact, I suspect Jamestown native Roger Goodell is happy with how things are playing out so far. I bet he's a closet Bills fan so he'll be thrilled if Pegula buys the team at whatever price. The only thing that would make Goodell and the NFL happier is if WNY builds a new state-of-the-art stadium.

I really don't see this as a bad thing. The players got a little feisty. Good! Players need to have some passion, some fight in them. Marrone reined them in. Good. A coach is supposed to establish discipline. Let me tell a story about when I was a tank platoon leader in the army stationed in Korea. A group of my soldiers got into a fight with a group of soldiers from another battalion. My battalion commander asked me about the event. I confessed it was true. He told me that it was unprofessional and couldn't be condoned. But then he added, speaking in a low voice, "But tell me something, do your guys win?" I replied in a serious tone, "Sir, we kicked their asses." And he said something to the effect of, "Great!!! The army's too soft these days. We want soldiers who are fighters - who have that warrior spirit!" He also took consolation that the losers were from another battalion, not his. I think Marrone is like my old colonel. He has to establish discipline but, at the same time, appreciates the warrior spirit.

I used to believe this (kind of) but now I wonder if Fitz just threw the ball toward some general area and Stevie got himself there. Stevie is talented but his creative freelancing was hard on EJ and is apparently hard on Kap too.

Good find, NoSaint. This isn't news but makes you wonder how this year might be different... "Supporting the claim that establishing the run doesn’t necessarily mean play-action success are last year’s Bills (minus-.18 EPA). Buffalo led the league in rushing attempts but ranked last in EPA/play on play-action. For a team like the Bills, those numbers tend to have a significant relationship. Head coach Doug Marrone’s tendency to lean on his ground game was a way to protect his group of young quarterbacks, a group that isn’t set up to make the quick reads necessary on play-action throws."

Yep. Good points.

"The circus that has been masquerading as the sale of the Buffalo Bills has received three non-binding bids to date, each below $900 million, according to two sources familiar with the sale of the National Football League team. Both of these sources are not directly involved in the sale as of yet." Are these sources any better than the other sources reporting different numbers? And, more to the point, do we care - as long as a Buffalo loyalist wins the bidding?

Long successful coaching careers don't always have auspicious beginnings. In his one year as a NFL OC, BIll Walsh's Chargers scored below the league average. In his first two years as a HC with the 49ers, he finished 2-14. BB went 36-44 as HC of the Browns before finding success with the Pats. Marv Levy went 4-12 his first year as a NFL HC, 2-5 his first partial season with the Bills. Marrone is a young HC. Hackett is a young OC. Both need to grow and improve and they probably will.

I mostly agree. But I think W/L record is way overrated. Flutie (or, Tebow, more recently) didn't win on the strength of their quarterbacking. They got wins from the play of their defenses.

We don't know who the new owner will be. We don't know his football philosophy. We don't know if he'll keep Whaley or Brandon. We don't know how well Marrone will do this season. But we do know Marrone will be fired when the season is over. Does this make sense?

Certainly seems like what they're shooting for. But it's awfully late in the game. And who - besides JBJ - really needs Kelly? And who - besides the TO Group - really needs JBJ? Pegula and Golisano can both do the deal on their own. Maybe Trump could use Kelly for PR reasons.

While I am concerned about Hackett, I'm not concerned about his preseason red zone play calling. I'm decidedly in the camp that says preseason is for practicing plays and evaluating talent. It's not a time for creative play-calling.

He's proven that good defense can still win games in the NFL.

Thanks eball. I missed the game due to living in the ever-overcast, far-away-from-Buffalo Pacific Northwest. While it's nice to know the Bills can move the ball offensively, the inability to find the endzone is concerning. Hopefully it's just a preseason, statistical aberration based on a limited unrandom sample.

Yeah, it was OL coach Pat Morris who called Kujo "Venus de Millo." But no matter the source, it's not a compliment to be likened to an immobile statue by your position coach. Not an auspicious beginning to Kujo's NFL career.

Um, who listens to Rodak?

If Tuel is indeed #2 on the Bills squad, it's because he's moved past Thad who would be better than #31 on this list. So to see Tuel at #31 doesn't seem to make sense. It's hard to judge Tuel for the some of the same reasons it's hard to judge EJ: rookie with limited reps, no QB coach, first time OC.

Interesting find. Thanks.

"Per Chris Brown, Bills unlikely to sign Hughes if he has another good..." So we'll only resign him if he has a bad year?

I do get the impression that a lot of players would probably prefer not to play in Buffalo. However, when the Bills express interest in a FA, he starts doing his due diligence and talking to players, coaches, agents and others about Buffalo. And while some will say the night life and weather sucks, others will say the fans are awesome. A lot of ex-Bills have great things to say about their time in Buffalo. And then the FA starts reconsidering his low opinion of the Bills. But, as others have already said, the biggest thing (next to money) is winning. When the Bills start winning again, FAs will start looking differently at Buffalo.

It's great Henderson is exceeding expectations but I'm still worried that Kujo is being called Venus De Milo by his own coach: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000377602/article/bills-coach-cyrus-kouandjio-could-be-venus-de-milo I really want all 3 rooks to shine because our O Line needs to improve upon 2013. I hope the link shared by FeartheLosing is a better indicator of where Kujo is heading.