JoeF

Thank you all...but the three of us together equal about 1/10th of the importance of a Cablelady birthday....

Dick wanted to play inside tonight. I can understand that urge.

I agree but I don't want our starters to have to take all the reps in camp...hard to practice w/o tackles

According to Chris Brown, Matt Murphy banged up a shoulder tonight and Patrick Estes hurt a leg. We are down to 3 healthy tackles. No word on the severity of the injuries but Murphy was taken to the hospital for an MRI. How come injuries always happen at the positions where the Bills are the thinnest....

And on the seventh day..Brett Favre flew to Green Bay and rested while the Packers sped faster and faster toward the bottom the cliff...

Favre reinstated....breaking news on ESPN...Farve on the way to Green Bay Green Bay and Favre agree to a noon reporting time tomorrow. The buyout scenario is still in play. The other option is backing up in Green Bay. No trade discussions are active. Put a tent over Lambeau Field -- its a circus...

Haggan has to serve a 4 game suspension ... http://buf.scout.com/2/745005.html

Resurrect Boz the football player not the actor

My what an endearing and wonderful response to your critics. Don't back up your curious proposal with facts--just call everyone who responded to you an unemployed ignoramus...good stuff. Do you really think Jason Peters is prepared for life without his salary (meager as it is), and without football? Because if the Bills end up playing this year without Jason Peters..he ends up on the suspended list and he continues to rack up fines and he gets no credit, according to the CBA, for a year played so the three years remaining on his contract are still in place. In fact, I believe if he doesn't report 30 days before opening day (August 8 I think) he may not get credit for a year played.. The Bills hold all the cards here Trader...if Parker (notice Parker not Peters - because I believe Jason would be in camp today if it weren't for Parker) wants to play hardball he should at least wait until its a real threat...this is just stupid.

Throw in Jim Kelly, a Canadian Ballet excursion and a heaping plate of 5 alarm wings and you got a deal young man.... Next...

Thanks Coach eball... Special Note: You can purchase Coach eball's book of training camp cliche's on amazon.com Part of the proceeds from sale of the book benefit the Hank Bullough School of Strategic Coachspeak..a non-profit headquarted in Orchard Park, NY.

Here's why I think Mitchell fits well. Stroud, when healthy, is a talent you need to gameplan around and more importantly it almost always takes two blockers to neutralize him. Poz, I believe, will be a multi-dimensional linebacker with Stroud in front of him--tough against the run, (great ability to shed lead backs and make the stick on the ball carrier) devastating on the delayed blitz, more than adequate in coverage. Crowell overcommitted at times the last two years but he can shed and make plays in the run and with a D line in front of him that requires 3 to block 2 -- The last two years he has had to pre-snap guess where the ball was going and flow to that spot (Hence the overcommit we saw on Brandon Jacobs long Touchdown run in the last game and on I think a long Maroney run against the Pats)--if he didn't a guard or tackle would be coming directly at him..this year will be more of initial read and flow -- I think he will have his best year yet as a Bill. He is also top shelf in coverage. We needed a backer on the weak side that could take on a TE, pulling guard or tackle or combination in the run and could cover the flat..Kawika did this well last year...remember in KC he was MLB for most of the time...a totally different position..he has done better at WLB...Ellison/Wire/Bryan Scott (yes he played some WLB last year) got consumed in the run last year..that ain't happening this year if Kawika stays healthy.. I think we move up at least 15 spots in our run defense ranking if everyone stays reasonably healthy..

At least we got plenty of draft picks...Edwards and Stroud basically came from Willis so we did okay..

He's struggling to find the "term" on Willis??? Meanwhile, running back Willis McGahee is sidelined with a lower left leg injury. His leg is wrapped in a black compression sleeve and he was limping around the field. McGahee said he doesn’t think this will be a long-term injury. Rookie running back Ray Rice worked with the starters and was extremely impressive again. “We are hoping to get him back soon,” Harbaugh said. “I don’t know what the term is on him, but we are hopeful.” http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles...sports72808.txt I think Willis has either "toostupidtolearntheplaybookstrain" or "cantkeepmydickinmypantsitis"

All good points...I haven't done the analysis to the down and distance trends for JP's sacks or questionable plays..but I do agree, the Bills should be in less 3 and 7 and above this year. The only consideration I can offer is that I do believe that JP has a style that would almost always tend toward the deeper option on a play. He has to at least peak at it before he moves on. I think that would carry over to this better team from the days of desparation from which we are emerging. He uses the toy to the max..and I am not sure the team's improvement will cause him to live within the system more--in fact--his situation now--knowing he is showcasing his skills for his next team--would probably reinforce going for the gusto... Even with this nagging feeling, I want nothing more for him and the team than success if he plays.

Dog -- I share the admiration for Greer...but rewatch the 56-10 loss to the Pats last year to view why the Bills drafted a corner #11....the secondary including Greer couldn't cover a slug that game...the Bills needed to get better on D all over the place and CB was one of those positions where we at least needed depth. I really respect an UDFA working hard and becoming a starter--but life in the NFL is competition and success is most times fleeting.

Devin Hester held out two days. Was told by the Bears to come to camp or no negotiation. He shows up and 3 days later he has a deal for a four year extension. He was scheduled to make about $450K in base this year so he was woefully underpaid. The Bills situation is a bit more complicated. The Bears took care of Urlacher, Harris, etc. before Hester. I think the Bills have to get something done with Lee Evans before moving addressing Peters. I would still not engage Peters or the agent on extension specifics until he reports, just commit to increased dialog once he shows. http://www.chicagobears.com/news/NewsStory.asp?story_id=4912

To take this one step further Kelly...I would add that I think it is easier to go the direction Trent needs to go than the direction JP needs to go to improve. Trent had 4 years of pounding at Stanford that led to this rapid decision style. If the first option wasn't there immediately he had to the checkdown or got pummelled. I think its easier to work through an extra read before the check down than it is to speed up--Trent will probably be able to do this pretty easily. JP, however, has historically relied on his legs to get him out of trouble and buy him time..it worked for the most part in college but it works less in the pros. Both are smart, both work reasonably hard (despite Ross Tucker's comments about JP) both will learn, both will evolve--both have not had adequate time to adjust...JP's 4 seaons are really like one and a half or two of playing time and may equate to less adjustment time because he has almost always faced losing his job if he faltered a bit; Trent's had a half a season. I think we have a great situation for this year...Trent is a clear #1 but if he goes down--JP has a lot to prove and badly wants the opportunity to do so. I'd rather be thankful for this than do a compare and contrast...Its not going to change the fact that Trent is #1 on depth chart...

Hardy's hands must be 11' or 11.5' high in that photo....wow...he is going to be tough to defend in short yardage situations and in the red zone.... Mike--you are the best...year in and year out you are the God of Training Camp Reporters..

And miss being berated and yelled at in the birthing suite...come on -- having been through this 4 times there is nothing better than being blamed for poverty, disease, natural disasters and everything else by the woman you love as she is trying to pass a watermelon through a mouse hole.... Training camp will seem like pansy-ville to Williams..the perfect way to prepare in my opinion..just ask Willis and Travis

Seems like you aren't being honest with your objective. Is it to make the case for JP? Is it to ask what factor "poise" is? I think I answered the original question by saying 1) The offense we ran last year was more about keeping the weak and injured D off the field than it was about scoring points 2) I am not sure what "poise" is--I think field intelligence (awareness of down, distance, routes, break points, advice to receivers, etc.), quick decision making, quick moves through his progressions are skills Trent has -- my opinion is that he displayed these skills on several occaisons last year. 3) Gunslinger is defined as holding the ball, waiting on a play to develop for a deeper throw. JP does that a lot. He is less worried about the occasional negative play because he believes he can make it up on the next play with his mobility and arm. 4) Every QB I know misses open receivers--there's 5 of them out there on almost every passing play and usually 2 or 3 are somewhat open -- if they aren't you need a new OC. Now "open" in the NFL is a quarter step in some cases -- the throwing windows are tight. Trent showed an ability to fit the ball into those tight windows on short and medium routes with some consistency last year and that fit the scheme Fairchild wanted. We simply don't know a lot about the entire arsenal Trent has because he was wrapped tightly into a system last year that was limiting. I want to see what he can do with the reigns a little less tight. We are going to get to see that this year...he could bomb as easily as succeed. I am not sure what you are aiming for here? Are you really wondering about poise or trying to dismiss it as a factor. Define what you mean by poise and maybe someone can provide useful information.

Trent had serious reigns on him last year as a Rookie--no audibles, tight to a gameplan without a lot of adaptations in game. He had basically two jobs..primary--keep the O on the field as long as possible so the D wouldn't be exposed; secondary--oh yeah--score some points. JP has talent -- he can throw, run but he couldn't and shouldn't operate in such a scheme over the long term..he just has the talent of a gunslinger and gunslingers need Defenses that can pull them out of the fire when needed. Its interesting because now the Bills have a defense that moves closer to being able to support a gunslinger. The Bills have weapons on offense -- Lynch, Jackson (watch how they use him this year), Evans, Parrish, Hardy, Reed to spread the field and go for the jugular. A gunslinger mentality would possibly work. I think if things start out slow for Trent -- meaning the Bills don't score points on sustained drives and mix in a few big plays here and there--the pressure will build to go back to JP. Clearly playoffs is the expectation and fast starts are almost a prerequisite for the playoffs. As a fan--I hope that Trent lights it up. I want the playoffs more than I want this QB or that QB and its clear the Bills are starting with Trent. I think keepthefaith did a good job of outlining the Trent strengths and weaknesses I saw - but I don't think we saw all of what Trent can do last year. I still vividly recall sitting in the endzone at FedEx field and watching him throw an absolute 35 yard bullet to Reed in the cold, mist and wind to set up the winning FG...this kid can play more than what the Bills have allowed him to display.

Still a young pup...but has lots of potential. Happy Birthday to Western Pennsyltucky's ass kicking philosopher...

I am wondering why they used Houston as the model? Maybe they could have used Toronto to make the Bills feel more at home.