The Dean

Yes, thanks. I had forgotten about the open spot.

Any word who the Bills dropped to make room for Tate?

Wow.

I sure hope so. Offense is the one area where I think the Bills should be fairly decent. Roman is a pretty good OC, Tyrod as another year as the #1, Shady is back, etc. Though I'm very worried about the OL, should the injury bug start biting. The D is my main concern. Rex has demonstrated he cannot adapt to talent that isn't perfectly suited to "his system" (a sure sign of a crappy coach, in my book). And given the atrocious tackling ("attempted tackling" I should say) the backups showed during the preseason, and the team's complete lack of discipline, I'm not sure the offense will be enough to compensate. But if this team wins at last two, of the first four games, I may come around a bit.

Ha. Sweet toaster.

One problem with that, as I see it, is they already lost Ragland for the year, Shaq Lawson for an unknown # of games (maybe the year), Aaron Williams (who knows for how long?) and Dareus for four games. THOSE are key players I'm sure they were counting on. The season, and the injuries that come with it, haven't even started yet. So, yes, count me as concerned.

Seamless? Yes, if only we could have kept him. Probably in very high demand!

Don't know much about Gant, but I'm fine with adding any CB from OSU to the PS.

Me, too.

Ha! I saw that ranking and shook my head. Of course, all power rankings, especially before ONE regular season game is played, are completely worthless--no matter if your team is ranked high, or low. They are far more worthless than preseason College rankings, because those rankings are a lot "stickier" than anything at the pro level. Given that caveat, yes #29 does seem a bit crazy, and pretty divergent from other rankings. But I have to admit, I have not been this pessimistic about the Bills going into a season in many, many years--as long as my booze and drug addled mind can remember. Rex has been, IMO, the worst HC in football over the past few years. The addition of Rob Ryan (easily the worst DC in football over that same period) as "Assistant Head Coach" makes me throw up in my mouth, a little. I can imagine ways this team might succeed. But I'm not "all in" on any of the scenarios I can think of---they all seem fairly unlikely, or pretty far-fetched, to me. I sincerely hope I'm wrong. And I'll be thrilled to admit it, if the Bills turn things around, this year.

Ha! For sure. But they could sign any one of a number of kickers for this. Keeping a guy who can't kick FGs seems strange. But then again, there's this... Really the only reason I can think to keep Gay on the PS. Plus, let's face it, the PS is pretty fluid and guys come on, and drop off, throughout the year. So it really isn't that big of a deal. That's why I checked this thread. It seems to me the Bills are usually aggressive, and put their PS together pretty quickly. But they haven't announced Ikard or Hazel ("Hey, your mother's uglier than Hazel!") yet, so perhaps they have actually made more agreements than we are aware of, at the moment. One might counter with the argument such as: "Deep talented teams are less likely to attract these free agents to their PS, as there isn't much of a chance of them being called up. So perhaps this is a sign the Bills are deeper in talent than they have been in the past." But c'mon, we know that's not true.

Brady is so arrogant, he simply can't seem to simply say "I did it. I didn't think it was that big of a deal." Then he'd make it easy for the NFL to give him his slap on the wrist, and move on. But no. The crybaby/drama queen, must deny everything and give preposterous denials--which, of course, transforming relatively minor infractions into HUGE issues. All the while turning Marcia into the "victim", for those stupid enough to buy into his act---or Pats* fans. (And let's face it, "stupid Pats* fan" is pretty close to an oxymoron.)

Ha! I refuse to wade through the pages of Kaepernick nonsense to ask this one question: Did anyone point out that Chief Wiggum (Simpsons) was intentionally drawn to look porcine? Come to think of it, if Jerry Johnson put on a cop cap, would that be considered some sort of attack on the police? If it becomes clear any alteration of the helmet (including removing the NFL logo) is forbidden, and a violation of the uniform code, they should most certainly punish Marsha. In fact, considering he is a repeat offender, and has dealt with the NFL in a contrary and arrogant attitude, I think they have every right to apply the maximum penalty---whatever that may be. How often can the Pats* use ignorance of the rules as a defense?

Did he grow to 6' 7"?

Good catch! I should have been clearly and said his leg may tire "late in the season". Does that help?

It seems the latest kickoff the rule change has teams kicking off short more often, and defending the return, versus trying for the touchback. If the Bills decide to pursue that strategy, Carpenter is more than good enough to do double duty, IMO. I suppose there could be some concern about his leg tiring as the season progresses. But I really hope the Bills don't carry two kickers, this year.

I have no Earthly idea, Brewsphere.

No reason to think a QB will get hit in a football game, is there? Starting OL or not, there is a decent possibility the QB is going to get hit. And considering TT's style, he is going to get hit, whether the OL plays well, or not. My point being, you should never be surprised if your QB gets hit---you should EXPECT it. Rex just blurts stuff out, without thinking, and often mangles his thoughts. Then he has to explain what he really meant, sometimes making other misstatements in the process. (Reminds me a bit of a particular political candidate.) Now, my opinion of Rex as a head coach should be fairly well known. But even he knows TT's going to get hit---pretty much in EVERY game he plays. I know many think the way Rex deals with the press is "refreshing", especially when compared to tight-lipped non-communicators such as Belicheat, or Rex's predecessor in Buffalo. But I actually think it serves as a distraction, and consistently puts the spotlight directly on Rex (where I think he likes it). But, it's not a big deal, really. If he wins, we'll find his blubbering charming. And if he loses, most of us will come around (I think) and realize his just an attention seeking failure of a HC. BTW, I should add: Starting TT wasn't a mistake, IMO. Playing him for too long, once he realized how bad the line was playing, would have been. I actually give Rex credit for starting, and pulling, him.

The last time I had broasted chicken was in a bar in Falls Church, VA (or somewhere very near there). Way back in the late 70's or early 80's. Much better than KFC, from what I recall.

I thought it was a bit annoying. I know "only we understand", but I really don't. The entire telecast was annoying, and amateurish. Tasker is an embarrassment as a broadcaster. How can he be wrong so often? Maybe if he took a moment, to figure out what was actually going on before talking, he wouldn't sound so totally clueless. I know it is the first preseason game for the announcers, too. But this isn't an isolated occurrence---it's his typical subpar performance. It seems like a lack of preparation, to me. I can't believe he approached football with the same level of preparation and focus. If I'm wrong, and he works like hell at it, then he simply doesn't have enough talent to call NFL games. Hall of Fame caliber football player. Hall of Shame announcer. That other mook, Rob Stone, as nearly as bad. I think I heard the following statements from him (although they could have come from Tasker, in which case I apologize to Stone, in advance): "You can't coach speed" "You can't coach tall" "You can't coach DNA" For Christ's sake it reminded me of Andy Samberg's "That'll move the chains!" skit on SNL. The blame lies on management (of the Bills Network and CBS during the season), though. Do they review the telecast, as a group, and point out the mistakes and problems, as they do in football, where they watch the game film together? When you accept this level of performance, it isn't likely to get much better.

Good question. Might be they are just too worried about his lack of ball security. Might be something else they don't like about him. Or, perhaps, Bryce doesn't want to come back to the Bills.

I don't disagree with either of you. I like Bryce Brown. And I think his fumbling issues are slightly overstated--but he clearly has ball security issues. But man, the guy really can run the ball. I'm shocked he hasn't been picked up by another team, yet. Is he that bad at pass protection, or does he not know the playbook? Baffles me that he doesn't get more opportunities.

My only real issue is when the CBs play far off the on obvious short down plays like ball on 3rd and 3. There were at least a couple first downs easily converted due to this coverage. Now if the Bills are playing a "bend but don't break" defense, then fine. But I don't think that is really Rex's philosophy. But in the red zone, the Bills D looked pretty good, today.

Is that a polka?

Bryce Brown is a great runner. There was never any doubt about how good of a runner he is. His ball security was the issue. That and he doesn't provide any help on special teams.