Delusional Bills Optimist

Nice hard running by Boobie.

Now we need to cash it in. They're still one possession ahead of us. Any points and all is forgiven on that first 3 and out.

nice play, shoulda been to CJ

Nice pocket, nice throw, nice catch.

There we go!!!

Get them off the field, boys.

Your move, Schwartz.

Wide receiver motion!

Out route, from the Slot. Chandler goes into a behind-the-line-shuffle motion. Snap count: two.

Hard play action fake into bootleg roll-out, intermediate level pass to Woods, long run after catch. 28 yard gain. (Drive stalls after successive holding and illegal formation penalties, resulting in a punt from mid-field)

Guys, there are simple fixes for all of these problems, new draft rules laid down by the new owner: No speedster WR toys in the 3rd round; No high motor DTs between picks 25 and 45.

I choose to believe that as Buddy Nix was filling out the card for "R. Wilson, QB, Wisconsin," he was briefly, and unfortunately, possessed by the ghost of the recently deceased Al Davis, who just happened to be enamored with a little heralded speedster from NC State, with little football pedigree. Can we really blame Buddy for that?

Right now, both Gay and Schmidt are on the roster as Punter/Kickoff specialists. I can't imagine they'll both be there for long. Looks like we'll have an opening on the 53 coming up shortly. Unless we're just keeping them both on until Week 2, when Nigel comes back.

Can he catch TDs like Vrabel? Sign him up either way. he can back up Nigel.

It looks like we've almost trimmed away all of our known dead wood, except for Urbik, Pears (for the money he's making) and Brooks. The Bills have finally purged almost all of the guys to whom this staff has been inexplicably loyal, i.e., Moorman, Graham, Legursky, Tuel, and they at least tried to move on from Pears. If it wasn't for the loss of Kiko and the uncertainty surrounding EJ, IMO we would have a damn fine roster from 1-53. That's a pretty nice two offseason turnaround in my book.

Can he play both inside and outside backer at this level? If so, is he a better prospect than Ty Powell? If so, go for it.

Pitch 3 or 4 years at 3.75-4.25 million per, and pray that Hackett has played enough Madden by now to pick up the finer points of Screen Play Theory.

Dennis Allen thinks the Raiders have three potential starters at QB in Carr, Schaub and McGloin. He says, "we'll have to see where Matt is on Monday." Anyone interested in kicking the tires on this one? Schaub's play has slid a bit in the past few seasons, but is he worse than Ponder? Maybe he could be pried lose for a reserve-type player or one of our two 5th rounders next year. Just positing yet another QB scenario to distract me from my Cohen-fueled melancholy and TJ-fueled frustration.

The thought of keeping Urbik and Pears as guards and/or emergency centers is frightening. I hope Whaley can find someone on the cut pile that can serve as a better reserve guard/center than these two. Judging by how mightily Urbik struggled against the Lions' 3rd string DTs last night, it shouldn't be that hard.

If the Bills haven't been repping another holder since OTAs, then that speaks volumes about the veracity of their commitment to trying to upgrade the punting situation. If we're forced into holding onto a mid-30 yard net punter just because he holds on PATs and FGs, this front office is blowing a lot of smoke about their so-called competitions. At least they auditioned Lee Smith as an alternative snapper.

Something is definitely strange about the Moorman loyalty. After a disastrous couple of punts in the first half last night, both he and Gay were punting prior to the start of the 3rd quarter. Gay's punts landed easily ten yards further, with substantially more hang time than Moorman's, and Gay looked like he was casually chipping before a round of 18, while Moorman appeared to be putting every ounce of leg strength into each kick. It was like watching Fitzpatrick throw a deep out. I don't get why Marrone said, post-game, that Gay wasn't ready to handle the punting duties yet. What is there to handle, really? If he can kickoff and punt, that frees Moorman's spot up for a reserve lineman or a 7th receiver. The whole thing strikes me as very queer.

About the only players that looked worse tonight, on whole, than Palmer, were Urbik and Kouandjio. There were multiple pass plays where they looked like synchronized matadors. The right side of the pocket did not exist. Moreover, can Kouandjio not bend his knees past 90 degrees, or, is he wearing a brace that prevents deep knee bend, or what? At his height, being unable to bend at all, he's practically useless in pass protection. A speed rusher that stays low is going to blow by him every time. It sucks to think we could have drafted an immediate impact player with that pick. Thank goodness for Seantrel.

On that play, Woods was crossing right towards me. He gave a decent leap and fully extended to try to snatch it with his lead hand. It was about six inches over his hand. Too bad, because he looked to be clear of his man by three strides and there were no other DBs between him and the endzone. To me, it looked like EJ had one of those "holy cow, he's sooooo wide open" moments, panicked to get the ball there, and over-aimed the throw.

Although the optimism has taken a decent hit this preseason, I am pretty certain that Sammy will be all right.

That's the play I referenced, too. Woods was crossing right towards me. He gave a decent leap and fully extended to try to snatch it with his lead hand. It was about six inches over his hand. Too bad, because he looked to be clear of his man by three strides and there were no other DBs between him and the endzone.