Mister Defense

Just now watching last Sunday's Football Night in America... Speaking to Chris Collinsworth, Bob Costas said that the Bengals at 5-0 could be 6-0 heading into the bye after playing Buffalo next Sunday. I am pretty sure Collinsworth responded by saying, "No question. A lock." Did anyone catch this? Correct in the quote? You would never catch Steve Tasker saying something so biased in his position at CBS, and the same could be said for almost all other national broadcasters. If he did say this, and I think he did, I hope this coaching staff is using it as motivation for Sunday.

Harvin 18 on an end around.

Well, maybe; aren't the Bills 3-27 over the last 30 against them? Total domination and cheating has zero to do with it.

Come on all, this is funny! And we could use some humor tonight.. (It looked like the Bills had weak personnel in all defensive positiions. Hope this bad coaching and game planning are not consistent with Ryan.)

It is the naming of Cassel as the backup that is inexplicable--after he was cut, after EJ was announced as the backup, and it seemed that the Bills were set with their #1 and 2. This is the kind of BS move that weak teams make, a Redskins kind of move. It will come back to haunt the Bills in my view. Reminds me of the Lynch treatment and trade a few years ago, one I said was the worst move I had ever seen the Bills make. Good sports teams use and treat their talent wisely, not like this. I hope Taylor is great this week and this year, but his arm strength concerns me. If he doesn't work out now Matt Cassel steps in! Yikes. Did our eyes deceive us in the preseason? This is a really interesting take, and I hope that you are correct. And that EJ is well aware of it if true.

Wow, what a BS move, a move made by a losing team, not a winning one. To do that to EJ, completely shatter his confidence after giving him some hope about his future with the Bills. Just got home and saw the headlines, so maybe reading about it will ease my mind, but on the surface at least it is the worst move this team has made in some time. Inexplicable.

As a Central New York resident, I like that Matthew Fairburn is on the job the last 2 (?) years. He is fact based and very objective, straight forward, in his reporting. Good variety of topics as well. The Syracuse paper has had the worst NFL coverage of any major newspaper I have read, so good to see that they made a small step in the right direction by hiring this good young writer to cover the Bills. He just needs to end his pieces in a stronger manner as sometimes they just fizzle out.

Good, wish that was the uniform they wear whenever possible--sharpest, clearest, and, to me, best matches my image of the Bills. Maybe not a great choice in a snowstorm though!

Just got home and saw this. Wow. Really surprising. Looking forward to reading all about this and the reactions. Could the conspiracy theorists be right!? Nah, but extremely interesting....

Huh? Have you even read today's article with Martin's quotes? He was a fragile mess, by his own volition. Just bashing for the sake of bashing here vince, with nothing of substance in your attack. And you go after all of TSW. So, I guess it makes sense that you feel this way as it is what you do here yourself--irrational bashing.

Thanks. Do you know why?

I tried to cut and paste the link on the post and then to use the link thing at the bottom. Both times it said that you cannot link to that site (Bleacher Report). But I see the link added above: how do you add the link? (For future reference.)

Reading the BR article out today it is clear that Martin has led a very sad life and that he is an extremely troubled and insecure person. He contemplated and attempted suicide on numerous occasions. I am not without empathy for Martin, but it is clear that this now retired player is not someone who was capable of dealing with normal life pressures. Of course, a career in professional sports means a great deal more pressure. Incognito's life and career were almost ruined by the accusations and fallout. To me, the article, Martin's words especially, put things into better perspective and made me understand more fully why so many in the Dolphins' locker room supported Richie.

What is with people that do this, comment on the 'yet another thread' idea? Who are they to decide? So useless... What a waste of time. The OP is doing something different, writing an editorial of sorts, one he did not want to get buried in the myriad other threads that so often lose their focus as they progress and progress and... And he makes an original point, I think, one I have not seen recently. And like many of the posts that I like and that get a lot of traction, he is putting into words what so many of us have had in the back of our minds but have not fully realized, have not put into words. I think he is right about EJ, what he could bring that the other two probably cannot. Does this mean if I was the coach I would start him in game one? Well, such a rare thing for a coach today to look at the long term as Simon does here. So, almost assuredly not going to happen.

OP: Very true. I live out of the area but have been listening to WGR a lot this summer online to get training camp details. Murphy seems to be one of the very few broadcasters not ripping into Manuel. They are defensive, and as the summer progresses, do not seem to want EJ to suceed. And as he has done well in games they have seemed to up their attacks, almost as if they are nervous that they were wrong and he could become a high quality NFL quarterback. Their biased comments and attacks would, of course, look even worse if this were to happen. I am not saying that Manuel should start, as he has not been consistent. But he has looked more like an NFL quarterback each week. By being so negative they have lost their objectivty and are not reliable and trustworthy. Too bad, as there are not althernatives on Buffalo radio to my knowledge, and we want to breathe Bills this time of year and will take what we can get. (Or are there alternatives on Buffalo radio?)

Yes, true, all on the line, and Manuel came through. No longer is he in the 'vicinity' with his throws, no longer do players have to stop and come back to get the ball, but he hit his receivers in stride, with the ball almost always in excellent position. What can he do with the starters in there? (The Bills starters and the others team's as well. ) We need to see. Start him next week, let him have a half and see how he does. He has outplayed Taylor and Cassel in 'actual' games, so give him a shot. He is a very different quarterback now, yes still developing, but he looks like he is ready to take the next step and become a solid NFL starter. He looked good consistently tonight, doing things he only did well sporadically in the past.

I agree that the coaching, the overall play of the offense, and the offensive line play--really, in all of these, the poor coaching was a significant factor--makes it very hard to evaluate last year's offensive players. And I agree that McCoy likely would have been much less effective as well. But Jackson has looked slow the last few years, and especially last year. And the relentlessness and explosiveness that were the hallmarks of his running style seemed significantly diminished. In the past so often it seemed he was tackled but then he would explode out of the pile and keep going... That is no longer the case. Yes, I am hoping that those skills that seemed so diminished last year were the result of a poorly functioning team and his injuries, but it seemed like more than that, like he hit the wall. We will see this year... I would love it if you are correct, that Jackson returns to form and is a central figure in the revitalized Bills this year. I think this can happen via his receiving more than his running, though. He needs to be in open space catching balls and not plowing through a line like he once did. I hope that is how they use him. However, as much as I would love to see a major resurgence by Jackson, images of him running last year keep popping into my head..

Okay, I see your point, especially in a few of his posts, ripping Fred apart. I have loved Fred as a player, thought he was the league MVP the year he went out, and he has been a dedicated Bill on and off the field. If the Bills had any playoff experience and success with him, he may be considered a Bills icon. (Not his fault that was not the case.) Although in attack mode when he said it, Buffaloed did echo one of my points. He said that the Bills once let their superstar players go when they were on the decline. To me their ability to keep reloading, letting players go when they were on the decline, was vital in keeping the Bills so good for so long. I think Jackson is too expensive for what he will likely bring this year and that the other runners on the team can really wear a defense down. If we have enough of them that will mean a relentless rushing attack. But, yeah, his posts are sometimes so filled with emotion and anger that he seems to be doing the same thing he accuses others of doing--letting emotion drive him. So, shoot the messenger, but some of his ideas are sound.

Okay, thanks, will do so.

Why say this? Because he expresses a clear and logical point it is somehow based on animosity toward Fred? Sure glad posters like this have no actual say in decisions the Bills make. How well this team runs will determine their record to a large degree now. We need runners who can carry the load, run through people still, and make a big play. Fred has not been that kind of runner for a few years. May be time to move on. I think Ryan calling out Brown is the same as his calling out Henderson--he knows the player can play, but wants him to take the next step. He can run fast still, break tackles, make moves and will likely prove to be more durable, has almost no NFL wear on his legs and body. The Bills cannot make emotional decisions like this poster and still take the next step..

Come on, calling BS on posts like this with zero to back up ridiculous statements. Yes, this may be the case if McCoy, Brown, Karlos Williams all go on IR, as they are all much better running backs at this stage. He has been a very good Bill, but almost zero chance that he is the most effective running back on this team. If one of those actual top three backs on this team is cut for the sake of Jackson's honorary position that would be a very bad sign. In run after run this summer all three have run like Jackson has not for several years.

Very well said And we know that Manuel can win some games if need be. He is coming along, not ready yet, but has the tools, so still possible. Who can the Bills get as a better insurance policy now? If they were without EJ, he may just the kind of player they would be looking at to bring in to the fold. Very unlikely that the starter remains healthy enough to play every game this year, so illogical to cut a decent and improving quarterback who will cost nothing. Keep him, see how he progresses, and go from there..

Hello? Anybody in there?? Have you been paying attention to practice, games, comments by coaches??? I would love for Manuel to start to redeem himself, to play a perfect game Thursday. And this would then possibly earn him the start for game 3. BUT, very unlikely! Just because we want something to be so doesn't mean it will. We are adults, I think, and there is zero evidence, and I mean that literally, to point to Manuel being the backup--and to Cassel being cut. Wake up!

Yup, ignore all of the facts coming out of camp the last three weeks and 'guarantee' that Taylor is the starter. I hope that he shows he can stay in the pocket and calmly lead his team with his arm. Then the running will take on much more significance. He will need to do it in camp and in the preseason games. Rex Ryan is going to go with the most accurate and consistent quarterback, which has been Cassel from all training camp indications. I hope that Taylor or Manuel take the bull by the horns and rise to the challenge, but enough of this nonsense, ignoring the facts and just spouting off. Since you guaranteed this, what are the consequences if this does not happen? A guarantee without anything behind it is worthless.

Nope. I have never seen a Bills pre season broadcast where the sound was like this or where they dropped the ball on replay like this. I have been watching these games for about 30 years. Not an excuse that it is locally produced, as Buffalo is not a small rural town, but a big city. And the Bills are over a billion dollar business.