RealityCheck

Thanks for that link. That is a great article.

How much of a grasp of the previous scheme do you have? How much of a grasp of the new scheme do you have? I am sorry, but you are bringing more emotion than critical thinking to these types of discussions. You act like these NFL defenses are so alien to each other. Ask yourself how players can possibly grasp playing a 3-4, then a 3-3 nickel on second down, then a dime package with a safety in the box, then back to a base look with RE a step wider than the previous first down with the NT 2 gapping inside? It's not the big deal you want to make it out to be. Just look at all the sub-packages that every DC uses from one play to the next. There comes a point when even young players have done it all, it's more of a matter of terminology. The same goes for offense. Try to relax about it. I doubt the players are sweating it.

Just because you are dizzy don't assume that others are.

Godspeed Ralph Wilson Jr. I don't know why, but I thought that he was going to live forever.

Hell yeah! Better late than never.

This is a great idea. Graham is a superior CB to Byrd at the same position. At FS, I think he can really develop there with experience. AW belongs at SS in my book. There isn't a better DB on this team at run support from that spot, plus he will likely spend less time in the box under Schwartz as it is. I expect a 2 high safety look a little more often than last season. BPA at the top of the draft this year would be nice to see.

With all of the blame that gets thrown around as to why the Bills have missed the playoffs for so long, why do some people still fear any form of competition at the QB spot? It makes absolutely no sense. Do you want to see wins or is it more important to hitch your wagon to certain players just for the sake of trying to win arguments on a forum. EJ clearly gets this season to show what he has. That being said, why not draft a QB outside of the first round to see if a guy can outplay Thad or Jeff. Every position needs competition for the backup roles at the very least. Honest criticisms of EJ should not always trigger such extreme hyperbole as a response. To say that EJ today is just as big of an enigma as he was last August is not nearly the same as wanting him replaced as soon as possible. Improving your QB depth at the very least can lead to some trades later on if your starter begins to light it up. If you decide the starter just can't cut it, then perhaps you have a guy already on the roster that earns a shot because the GM decided to wisely hedge his bets. I want to see the Bills win a lot more than I care about who is responsible for it. If Jeff Tuel sells his soul to the devil and looks like Drew Brees all of a sudden, who am I to argue if it means winning? Just win baby!

I have said it before and I will say it again. NFL fans are close to maxed out. Personal debt is over 350% of GDP and rising. Wages are frozen in time and raising children is getting more expensive by the minute. The NFL's finances may currently be on the rise, but the finances of it's fan base are not. When your customers' credit cards are maxed out, what then? Perhaps the NFL will go the route of car companies at that point and get into the banking business, allowing fans to apply for lines of credit for the sole purpose of NFL related expenditures. Another way to set the hook in it's fans. Ironically, few teams can even finance their own real estate ventures without tax revenue from non-football fans. Oh, and by the way, if the stadium doesn't sell out, that tax payer in-market can't even check out 1 second of the local team because it is blacked out. More irony is that when businesses get that large and people exercise their free market rights to put their money elsewhere, additional public assistance from the tax payer gets leveraged out of the local politicians despite the free market mechanisms in place. I apologize for my rant. It is just that I am hypersensitive towards the plight of consumers where as when big businesses decline because the consumers have spoken, those same consumers then have to subsidize those businesses through their taxes via lobbying efforts. I need a drink.

The teams that would give up their QB for 2 first round picks probably don't have a QB worth taking if a Super Bowl victory is the goal. The teams that do have a QB that I would be willing to give 2 first rounders for would not give their guys up at that price.

I view 4 straight Super Bowl losses as an even bigger waste. The goal is to win the big one. I don't know a single Jets fan that doesn't view those AFCCG failures as exactly that, failures. Lost opportunities and a rare roster that is gone forever. Imagine the current Bills rising to the occasion and having deep playoff runs, just to come up short and have the tide recede and leave us with another period of mediocrity and no playoffs. Would you consider that anything else but a waste of time, money and effort? I certainly would. Every NFL team pushes the same propaganda. Supposedly we are to believe that every team is focused on the singular accomplishment of winning the big one. I simply view things the way they advertise it. They certainly spend enough money to try and convince everybody of it. They want my money after all. Look at the 49rs. They are at a serious cross roads. If they sink back into mediocrity the fan base will view their playoff runs as simply tragic events. Lost opportunities. When I was a competitive athlete, coming close and failing felt like death.

You said it. "THEY". Go back and watch who "they" were. That roster had a comparable level of talent by NFL standards as USC had in college football. They were the poster children of run and stop the run. We clearly differ on how we perceive Sanchez's contributions to that team's success. The O-line at that time was amazing. The run blocking and T.O.P. was amazing. The defense was amazing. The QB position, not nearly as amazing. As defensive talent waned and an emphasis on the passing game evolved, Sanchez revealed himself to be the primary mitigating factor to there success. I'll agree to disagree. I remember what I saw with my own eyes.

Fitz is terrible. That is all. If he starts, Williams will collect dust.

I disagree. The Jets were far from dysfunctional in those first 2 seasons. That Jets team had it all, from coaches to players. The running game and O-line play were on another level.The defense with Jenkins at NT was loaded and stopped the run with ease. Sanchez was the limiting factor. When given weapons and game day schemes evolved more so around the QB position, he revealed himself to be what he currently is, was, has always been. That team could have won a couple of Super Bowls with the right QB. They traded up for the wrong QB. Save your stats. WATCH those games again if you must. If you can't learn anything from the eye test and want to focus on statistical validation, check out those Jets teams. They were a veritable beast at that time. Sanchez was the weak link. You will never convince me that SANCHEZ of all people was the guy that lead them to the Championship games. Both losses. Maybe you think what you think from his GQ cover. As for my original post being the worst that you have ever read on here, I have posted far worse.

An enigma wrapped in a riddle.

What position do you play?

When the Jets traded up to get him, I was ecstatic. With the right QB, the Jets roster at that time was poised to do significant damage. He was the critical mistake. I always think of the Jets at that time as a team that proved that you can do almost everything right in regards to personnel, but if you hitch your wagon to the wrong QB, all of that money, time, and energy are ultimately wasted. A thing of beauty!

The Bills need to find a TE to out play Chandler and make him expendable. Until then, it's a nice deal for the Bills no matter what. No matter who they draft at TE or who they might have already on the roster, they will still have to prove themselves to take playing time away from Chandler. It would be great to have a duel threat to put on the field with him also. Power running and 2 TE sets put a smile on my face.

This is the time of year when my rose colored glasses get there new tint. I feel pretty great about what this team is going to do within the division this coming season. Last year, the team actually got healthier down the stretch for a change, and actually won some divisional games. The Jets and Phins look like a joke to me right now with the Pats being the perennial hill to climb. Britt would be a nice addition, but I think the draft will speak to the teams potential by far. 4-2 in the division I say!

Great question. If they managed to get either of those guys, which I think is impossible without trading up, I would assume that the LT spot would be based on competition through the preseason. Perhaps swapping sides in practices and pre-season games to see what combination works best. Cordy looks to me like he would be an absolute beast on the right side, but someone would have to genuinely beat him for the spot on the left side. The top LTs are easy to focus on, just like Cordy Glenn was easy to not focus on as a LT while being heralded as just a quality guard entering the draft. I am more curious as to whether anyone under the radar has the tools to get it done at RT outside of the first round. It would be a wonderful problem to have if they could find a Tackle that can out play Cordy on the left side. That would mean truly great things for the entire offense. I am a big Glenn fan also. Like you, I like him where he is. It's rare to have a LT that can pass protect and run block at his level. He still has upside too. Is their anybody you like that may be available later in the draft that can rock'n roll on the right side? I haven't looked at many of these guys.

If the Bills go DT, they might as well go with Nix. Nix at the 1-tech and Dareus at the 3-tech and you have mayhem against the run and the pass. A trio of those 2 and KW allows for a variety of inside gap combinations and makes Branch expendable, as he is an expensive back-up at this point who is at the peak of his game right now.

The "on the clock" series pertaining to RT has an important caveat in it. The RT is on the rise in "spread" offenses. Teams that are focused on the power run game and utilize the TE on the strong side to chip do not share this philosophy. Those teams still value run blocking in their RTs over pass protection. The question is what are the Bills running? If the power running is going to be the bedrock of this team, then drafting a RT in the top ten to be a "dancing bear" simply won't be in the cards. If they intend to move towards the spread then it is obviously on the table. I think that smash mouth running is what Marrone believes in at his core, and so drafting a RT at 9 over a rare skill position specimen just isn't going to happen. The Williams pickup exemplifies to me a fundamental focus on run blocking value over pass protection skills. If a player has good feet, he can in theory be coached up in pass protection. The ability to go hat on hat and blow your man off the ball isn't something that can be taught as easily, if at all. From the second round on, I would expect a Tackle to be taken that has strong run blocking ability and a massive wing span. 90% of the time the TE is going to be there to chip much like last year if necessary.

Kyle Williams, FB, any down and distance you feel like running the football. Blitz pickup, no problem.

Fred won't be around forever, and there is no guarantee that Spiller gets a contract extension. The correct way to use Spiller is to hand him the ball. As an NFL RB, you have to be productive between the tackles. It isn't rocket science and Spiller made mistakes, while hobbled with an injury, behind an inconsistent O-line. As for Williams being good on screens, that started as a quote out of an article and has now become a catch phrase. The fact is that Williams is not good at it, yet. His strength is phone booth run-blocking, hat on hat, move his man out of the damn way. The run game will improve this season for many reasons. It's just a feeling I have about this crew. The inside zone will evolve this year. I can feel it.

Is everyone just going to repeat their personal suppositions about the Byrd fiasco? All of our opinions are just opinions, and we have all made them quite clear to each other, repeatedly, what all of our opinions are. Byrd is gone. It's over. Why can't some people just accept that? If it matters SO much how the Bills do business, get a job application and show the world how it's done. You can't always MAKE people do what you want regardless of contracts and legalities. It costs time and money to pursue such things. Apparently the Bills didn't franchise him. Some agree with that, some don't. It's over.