hondo in seattle

Last year we started the season with 5 WRs (not counting Smith) and ended up getting Smith on the field as a WR as well as some street free agents. Yet this year we're only keeping 4 WRs which is really surprising to me. Gailey likes to throw the ball, likes to use crossing routes and likes 4 WR sets. So there's going to be some injuries. And players do need to be rested some time. It seems unlikely we'll get through the season with just Johnson, Jones, Nelson and TJ playing wideout. Does this mean we can expect to see CJ more at wideout? Does Chan & Nix think we can pick up a FA WR better than the ones we cut? Is Chan planning on using less 4 WR sets this year and maybe run the ball more? What do you guys think???

So we kept 4 QBs and 4 WRs and 2 Kickers! Wow. This just doesn't seem right. Each WR can have their own personal QB.

+1 Good commentary

Maybe we'll sign a FA? We ran a lot of 4 WR sets last year. Hard to do this year with only 4 WRs plus Brad Smith and maybe CJ split wide sometimes. There's bound to be injuries.

Yep! The NFL allows a team to dress an emergency QB. With Smith, we get to dress an emergency QB, WR and RB all in one guy taking up a spot that doesn't even count against the allowable game day total. If Fitz or TJack get hurt, Smith won't move up to the #2 position. He's not that good and that's not his role. His role is to be the jack-of-all trades.

16 of 16 predicting the Pats to win the AFCE. 9 of 16 predicting the Bills to get in as wildcards. There's a suprising amount of optimism out there for the Bills to make the playoffs for the first time since Chris Berman was knee-high to a bison. It's wierd to see people who were underwhelmed by Fitz and Gailey late last year now jumping on the bandwagon. In fact, it's wierd to have a bandwagon.

Yikes... your suggestion sounds like waaaaay too much work. I'm pleased the OP did as much as he did because I wouldn't have spent that much time on a post. And, while the sample is small, it does hint at something. And, by the way, the Saints and Pack scored a lot in preseason and then scored a lot in the regular season. They got to the SB on the strenght of their offenses. But that's not the only way to get the SB. I'm just hoping our balance of competent O, competent D, and competent ST is enough to get us into the playoffs. Our lack of scoring doesn't concern me yet.

But you forget! Smith is multidimensional. He can run the wildcat, play wideout AND take a knee on kickoffs.

My apologies then. I agree the Bills need better QB & WR play. Yet the Bills averaged around 30 points per game for the first 7 games last year. Even with our talent limitations, we put up points until the wheels fell of the wagon either because of (1) injuries, or (2) defenses figured us out. Even if you subscribe to #2, you have to admit #1 was a contributor as well. I don't think the Bills will have a great O this year exactly because of your concerns (WR and QB) and I have my own concerns about the O Line. But, for all that, we ought to have a competent offense. Gailey proved early last year what he's capable of even without a bevy of Pro Bowlers. It's really hard to evaluate our defense which has been vanilla in preseason. It might be that, once the regular season starts, Wanny's schemes don't allow the middle to be as weak as you think. Good coordinators make players look better. You said the Jets are a mystery. I think to an extant - especially regards to our defense - we are too. Not only do we have a new coordinator and a new scheme, we have new players as well. Like many fans, I'm hoping for great things from our D and there are facts and reasons to justify this hope. But until the season starts, we just don't know. The arguments in favor of pessimism just aren't compelling enough for me. Instead I choose to be optimistic - because maybe this is the only time of year I can be!

Do I understand this right? Since you played, coached and know football, your evaluation of the Bills is superior to everyone else's here? Because none of the rest of us have ever played or coached football and don't know it? Yikes, I hope I misunderstand.

+1 I think OJ made McKenzie look great moreso than the other way around. IMHO, the Wall of Fame is for the great, not for the very good.

Fair question. I will retract my statement and pray for the real offcials to get back on the field!

I think Chan's mind is already made up and nothing TT does against Detroit will convince Chan to move TT up the depth chart. One good night doesn't much alter two years of mediocrity. I think this is how Chan sees things... Fitz is the starter because he's the best we have. TJack is the #2 because he's better than TT. Brad Smith is the #3 because teams get to dress an emergency QB who doesn't count against your game day total. So you want someone in that spot who will see the field even if (as is likely) both #1 and #2 don't get hurt. Smith can contribute in other ways. It's like having an extra player for free as long as you can legitmately label him a QB. So where does that leave Thigpen? Option 1: Keep him as the temporary #2 until T Jack learns the offense well enough to perform that role. Option 2: Cut TT now confident that no one will sign him - he'll still be available if Fitz gets injured early in the season. Option 3: Keep him on the roster because - god forbid - Fitz or TJack get hurt tonight.

This reminds me that some fans here wanted Brohm to start instead of Fitz just as this year some posters wanted VY to start instead of Fitz. In both cases, some of the misplaced fandom was based on college accomplishments and draft reports. I believe both Brohm and VY are currently unemployed though Brohm did have a job last year as the 2nd string QB for the Las Vegas Locomotives. In retrospect, neither of these guys deserved a starting role under center for the Bills. I guess unless your QB is a Pro Bowler, there's a tendency to fallaciously assume the backup is better.

Replacement refs will make more mistakes than the normal ones. There's a 50-50 chances the mistakes will be in our favor.

Hindsight is 20-20 as they say. Not only did the draft gurus in the media not rank Wilson that high, neither did most franchise scouting departments - despite all their film study, personal observation and interviews. It's not only Nix. Apparently a lot of people saw flaws in Wilson's game and I doubt his only shortcoming was stature. I don't think less of Nix if Wilson overcomes his shortcomings and succeeds in the NFL. No GM gets it right all the time - or even close.

That is scary. Maybe Gilmore is an exceptional rookie and ready for prime time. But I'm not sure how confident I am in any of the others. I'm really not sure how confident I am in Gilmore. A healthy McGee would be great for this squad. When asked if the setback could put McGee’s roster spot in jeopardy come final cuts on Friday, Gailey indicated that would not be the case. “I don’t see that right now,” said Gailey. “No, I don’t see that.”

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Cooley missed 11 games in '11 because of a severe knee injury, and while he's only 30, there are questions about his ability to keep that left knee healthy. In addition, of course, the Redskins have Fred Davis ensconced as their starting tight end, which would make Cooley an awfully expensive ($3.8 million) backup. A PPR-friendly but TD-challenged TE from way back, Cooley is destined for a backup role this year, either in D.C. or elsewhere. He was the first TE in NFL history to have at least 6 TDs in his first 6 seasons. Made the Pro Bowl in 2006 & 2008 (?). 77 receptions in 2010. Injured in 2011, but supposedly completely recovered in 2012. The most prolific TE in Redskins history with 428 career receptions. Has some H back and fulback experience. Supposedly, he was released so he'd have the chance to compete for a starting position somewhere rather than being a backup in Washington. Called "Captain Chaos" for his "Animal House persona"

A lot has been written about the Bills short passing game and how opponents figured it out in the 2nd half of the season. With Lee Evans gone and Easley hurt, we didn't have anyone to stretch the field last season. I think Nix considered a speedy wideout a bigger priority than QB. I don't remember the stats anymore but most QBs picked in the early rounds don't become franchise QBs. Many/most don't even become mediocre starters. It's really hard to figure out which QBs will suceed in the NFL. There are no sure things in the draft but the probabilities vary by position. The success of a lineman or, in this case, a WR is easier to predict. With so many holes to fill, we couldn't afford to gamble on a QB who may or may not ever take the field in a regular season game.

Ah yes. Our high-powered Trent Edwards led offense! McKelvin had a punt return for a TD and Thigpen led the Chiefs to 31 points. I remember now. Let's hope McKelvin scores against the Jets, too.

The BIlls over the Jets, 74-0. Gosh, I would love to see that. What are the most points the Bills ever scored in a game? The most I remember off the top of my very small head is the 51-3 whipping we laid on the Raiders in the AFC Championship Game.

I hope the optimists are right. Can't wait for the season to start.

Yep.

The Bills were either last in the league or close to it in 3rd-and-1 and 3rd-and-2 situations last year. The offensive line just didn't produce a lot of push when it was obvious we needed to run. But maybe you are right that having a healthy (is he?) Wood will change things.

II don't think Fitz & Stevie are good enough to have productive games against Revis & Co. every time. I would love to be wrong, though.