hondo in seattle

The OP said we could clone the guy. If we had 50+ Jim Brown clones running around today with our modern knowledge of training, nutrition, etc., they'd be beasts.

Good point.

I don't think anyone is making the point that our wildcat was good last year - though it was reasonably effective in the beginning of the year at running for 1st downs. But last year had a lockout-shortened offseason and Chan wasn't able to implement his enitire offensive package nor practice it to the point of executional perfection. Additionally, we have Coach Lee on staff now and he's supposedly THE wildcat guru. No one wants to return to last year's wildcat. Some of us are interested to see what we can do with it this year. And remember, the Wilcat's effectiveness can't be measured solely by it's production. Part of the idea is to make opposing defenses waste practice time on it so they spend less time practicing for our base offense.

I wouldn't mind a 2 year plan with Potter. Let him do kickoffs this year but work with him to improve his FG kicking. And next year we make a choice to stick with Lindell or go with Potter. We give up a roster spot for an extra kicker just for one year. Lindell is only getting older and Potter might have enough upside to be our guy in the future.

Yep. On a typical running play it's 10 vs. 11 because the QB is just staying out of the way. With the Wildcat, it's 11 versus 11. You've just increased your manpower by 10%. Also, the Wildcat is schematically very different than the Bills normal O. Assuming we could execute the Wildcat well, other teams would have to game-plan for it thus reducing the amount of time they game play against the normal Fitz-led Offense.

America likes underdogs. Nothing wrong with it. And this guy was a freak of nature. Huge, but surprisingly agile. Of course he elicited interest and conversation. Personally, I was hoping Jasper would turn out like Peters. A late draft pick with raw athletic ability but low-level skills who gets coached into a good NFL player. But I can't say I'm surprised it didn't turn out that way. It only rarely does.

Pete Gogolak!?!? You must be an old-timer. When Gogolak kicked soccer-style with the Bills, the league was electrified and field-goal kicking was changed forever. NFL.com has a list of the 10 things that changed the game of football and Gogolak is on that list: http://www.nfl.com/v...me-Pete-Gogolak Gogolak also helped start the signing wars between the NFL and AFL. In those days, both leagues tended to view the other league's players as off-limits. But the NFL's Giants were desperate for a FG kicker and went after our Gogolak in a big way. (Gogalak ended up setting the Giants all-time scoring record). The war for players that ensued caused financial problems for both leagues until finally the NFL invited the AFL squads to join the NFL. Hence the Bills are now a profitable member of the NFL instead of a defunct team in a defunct league. Given his role in making soccer-style kicking popular in the NFL and his role in the merger of the NFL and AFL, Gogolak's a good candidate of greatest Bills K of all time. But after all that, I would still pick Christie just because although Gogolak started as a Bill, he was a Giant much longer.

I go with Jim Brown. He was strong, fast enough, more elusive than some remember and had an incredible competitive instinct. This guy would fight as a blocker, tackler or anything else to the last drop of blood.

Apparently he's having trouble picking up their blocking schemes. http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/eagles/20120814_Bell_motivated_to_improve_after_demotion_to_second_string.html

I was one of those who bemoaned the Evans trade because he seemed like a classy guy. But even then I understood Lee's biggest contributions were when Losman was the QB. JP could throw a nice deep ball and running the 'go' was the only thing Lee really excelled at. Lee doesn't fit Chan's offense. And if he's truly lost a step, it might be time for him to start a second career.

Yep. The Jasper story reminds me a bit of the Leif Larson story. Like Jasper, Larson was a physical specimen. Larson once knocked out Klitchko in a boxing match. And I think Larson had the 2nd most reps on the bench press ever at the combine. But he did nada when with the Bills.

To get back on track (sorry for the pun)... Bolt isn't built like some of those wispy long distance runners. He's got some muscle. But does he have good peripheral vision to pick his way through a defense? Good hand-eye control to catch the ball? Etc.? As for money, Forbes says Bolt made $20 million over the past 12 months. As for interest, Bolt says he wants to play soccer for Manchester United. Bolt will never play in the NFL but it could have been a very interesting experiment.

This is a good post because it generates a lot of controversy! My two cents... we'll definately keep Brad Smith. People seem to forget the #3 QB in a special roster spot that doesn't count against your game day total. Since the #3 QB most likely not get on the field as a QB (and we're screwed anyway if he does), you might as well put someone in that position that has other talents. Smith fills that spot real nicely. He can return kicks, play WR and run the wildcat and he's not costing us a roster spot. It's like having a free player.

Tony Dungy said on TV today that he thought maybe Bolt could learn to play WR in the NFL. But I think Usain probably makes more money doing what he's doing. Anyway, if he did come to the NFL, shouldn't he be a Charger?

August 10, 2012 (SAN DIEGO) (WLS) -- A woman made NFL history Thursday as she became the first female to ever referee a game. Shannon Eastin, 42, made NFL history when she took the field as one of the refs replacing regular game officials due to an ongoing labor dispute with the NFL. Chargers head coach Norv Turner called the appearance "historic."... Shannon must be Sheena's sister.

As this is the first preseason game, I'm not too concerned about who played well and who didn't. Those kinds of observations are usually meaningless this time of year and don't accurately predict regular season performance. I am concerned about who looked healthy and who didn't. It's good to hear Merriman looked good.

Yep. The only ways Smith lines up at QB is (1) we're in the Wildcat, or (2) both Fitz and the #2 go out in the same game.

Yikes... It's only the first preseason game. I've noticed over the years that some players look good in preseason (e.g. Trent Edwards) and then terrible in the regular season. Other players look bad in preseason and then great when the games count. We all need to be very cautious about making judgments after the first preseason game. How many games did Marv Levy win in the preseason? I think we had a losing record in 3 of the 4 preseasons that preceded us winning the AFC Championship. Kelly & Company didn't accomplish much during preseason but they produced when it counted. I take it all with a grain of salt.

I'd love to see an Olympics in Buffalo. But I think Poojer's remarks about logistics are valid. 100 miles and an international boundary separate Toronto and Buffalo. There would have to be two separate Olymipic Villages. Fans would have to choose one city or the other. Etc. Competition to host the Olympics is fierce and a less-than-ideal situation like this would seem to be deal-breaker. But I wonder if there's a way to put a positive spin on two cities in two countries co-hosting?

Yeah, Kelly, I agree. Our offense was high-powered for the first 7 games last year without having a proven #2 WR. Lots of WRs chipped in as did Freddie and Chandler. Fitz had several legitimite targets. Part of our success has to do with the nature of the offense. We had multiple guys running short routes. Our WRs didn't need to be speed demons and they didn't necessarily need to beat tough coverage. They just needed to know what Chan expected of them and then hang on to the ball. Our best plays usually produced an open receiver just because Chan's play-design and play-calling created a mismatch or defensive-breakdown somewhere.

I wouldn't say our WR corps "sucks." I tend to agree with eball. We're still looking for a starter to play opposite Stevie. Nelson is fine as the slot guy. I'm really hoping TJ or Jones or Easley step up this year. But one thing I do feel good about is that we have a lot of depth. Our starters may or may not be in the top half of the NFL, but we have a lot of solid second-teamers. When injuries happen or when you're trying to run 4 receiver sets, that's not worthless. When and if we find a good #2, I'll be pretty happy with our receiving corps overall. This isn't a top to down mess. We're just missing one puzzle piece.

Good research! While PTR is right that the Bills might be reluctant to bring in another QB this late, both Thigpen and VY have been bad thus far so signing a 'bubble' QB from another squad is not out of the question. It could be that Fitz gets hurt this season and one of these guys comes in for him. But let's hope not.

In other words, VY is NOT on the verge of being cut. But he might be cut by the end of preseason. In other, other words: there's nothing new here.

I tend to think about teams in terms of coaches. And I'm just old enough to remember Harvey Johnson's reign. He led the Bills to an impressive 1-10 record in '68 and then we let him head-coach again in '71 when he master-minded a 1-13 season. We were truly pathetic. Those two games we won under Johnson were shocking. The players and fans expected to lose every week. Jim Ringo - a good offensive line coach - was nearly as horrible as a head coach - earning a 3-20 record (1976-1977). Then there was the tough-minded defensive coordinator, Hank Bullough, who came with a good resume (one of the innovators of the 3-4) but produced just 4 wins in 21 games (1985-1986). We Bills fans have been blessed with some truly awful teams.

I hope this is just the beginning. The fact that Tebow completed a long pass for a TD will surely be noticed by some of the Jets players. Let the controversy begin... Tim Tebow takes New York Jets' first-team snaps By Marc Sessler With Mark Sanchez looking on, New York Jets backup quarterback Tim Tebow took a pair of first-team snaps on Wednesday. Now here's the catch: It doesn't matter. "It was just two more plays," Tebow, told Jenny Vrentas of the The Star-Ledger. "Try to execute and do your job like any other play." And that's what it was. Just any other play. Two plays, actually: The first, a deep, incomplete toss to Eron Riley. The second, a completion to wideout Patrick Turner, who beat Antonio Cromartie for a 60-yard touchdown (contain yourselves). Tebow lined up for 11-on-11s as the offense cycled through its third-down package. Rex Ryan chuckled about the scoring strike, which came against the same defensive alignment Tebow saw in Denver on his 20-yard, game-sealing touchdown scamper against the Jets in Week 11 last season. Because it's Tebow, Sanchez and the high-octane stew known as the Jets, this is ripe for overreaction. Let's avoid it. Up in New England, even Bobby Hoyer gets a snap or two with the ones. Graham Harrell sees a little first-team action in Green Bay and, down in New Orleans, Chase Daniel will get to know the starting center. Life moves onward. We'll learn more about this offense Friday, when the Jets visit the Cincinnati Bengals. Ryan told The Associated Press that Sanchez will play "a quarter or so," while Tebow could play about two. That deserves more analysis than two plays in Cortland, N.Y. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000047372/article/tim-tebow-takes-new-york-jets-firstteam-snaps?module=HP11_headline_stack