Last Guy on the Bench

Love Sims. He's got that great gliding running style. Plus speed. Plus hands. I would be stoked if they could draft him in the 3rd or 4th. I would think he'd go mid-second through mid-third.

For me, it's Davante Adams, WR, Fresno State. He's got decent measureables, but they won't blow anyone away. But I love the way he tracks and snags the ball and his general feel for space and body positioning. He was super productive in college, and I think he will be super productive as a pro. I predict he will consistently catch a lot of passes for a lot of years. To my eye, he just looks like one of those guys who has a natural feel for the game. I would love to grab him in the second or third round.

This post was a great Christmas present. Very encouraging.

I would say I'm in the 55-60% range. EJ is a really weird combination for me. The things I like about him, I REALLY like - emotional maturity, size, arm, leadership qualities, the way he seems to get better in tough situations. Then there are the things that make me REALLY squirm - how panicky he looks in the pocket sometimes, the crazy ducks he can throw, the generally conservative nature of his football temperament, the extra second it seems to take him to find open receivers. I don't know. I am guardedly optimistic that he will continue to develop into a starter we can all be proud of, and I like him a lot as a person and for his potential, but I wouldn't bet a lot of money on the ultimate outcome with him either way. At least he is keeping things interesting for now. And I wish him all the best.

Unlike most people, I think I would still follow them passionately if they were in Toronto. It still feels like the same region to me, and I love Canada. (Would be even happier if they were in Montreal. Not likely.) I'd rather they stay in Buffalo than move to Toronto, but I would be intrigued by a Toronto team. My ideal would be Niagara Falls. I think I'd actually prefer that to the status quo, unlike a Toronto move. If they moved to LA or someplace far away to which I have no connection, I don't think I could support them. I'd keep a curious eye on them for the first few years. But I think I would try to find a Premier League team to root for and start following English Football more intensely than the NFL. I would have done that years ago, but the Bills are a drug that I cannot quit, and they keep me plugged into the NFL in general in a major way.

Great post. I really enjoy watching this team too. They are finding some ridiculous and painful ways to lose, but they fight like mfers and have some real talent at a bunch of positions. I find myself mostly feeling sorry for the players and the coaches when they lose (as opposed to feeling sorry for myself, which is my normal fan reaction) - when I watch the games I feel like they deserve to win, even though there is clearly no 'deserve' in the NFL. I really hope they turn the corner this year or next, because they have the makings of something special. (I think.) (I hope.) (What the hell do I know?)

I agree that you can't really know how deep this runs, but I do think it's different than what was said about Gailey. The Gailey stuff was just about a general "winning mentality" if I remember. This is much more specific. It's about a mental shift from focusing on minimizing mistakes to focusing on forgetting about mistakes and making plays. I think that's big, if it's true. I've never believed in a coaching philosophy that is essentially defensive or protective, i.e., "If we can only run our plays perfectly as they are designed without making any errors, we will succeed." or "If we can only march down the field without any negative plays or penalties, we will succeed." Never, ever gonna happen that way. Football is too fast and complex. Even the best teams make physical and mental errors all the time. Plus, it gets people away from thinking about what awesome, productive, game-changing play they can make on the current play. Instead their heads are filled with images of what they are trying to avoid. Great players and great teams don't think that way. So I am really glad to read the quotes in that article. Hope that attitude sticks.

For me, so far, it would go: 1) Reid (to me, he's been underrated for years because of no SBs and questionable in-game management, but overall he is a great coach) 2) Pagano (didn't know much about him until last year, but have really been impressed with him) 3) Ryan (I think very highly of him - people need to see past the bluster. I don't think the Jets have been as talented as people have made out over the last several years. He gets them to consistently play above their individual talent level.) 4) Payton (Last year was a great infomercial for his abilities.) 5) Marrone (We are fesity. We are interesting. Despite being young and wickedly injured, the Bills are fun to watch again. I give him a lot of credit and have hope for the future (even though he produces some of the most tortured sentences ever known to man.)) I'd also give Belichick, Lewis, Carroll, and Chud some props. But things change, so we'll see who can keep it going and who can't.

The only 3-4 team on his top 15 list: http://mmqb.si.com/2013/10/21/peyton-manning-andrew-luck-monday-morning-quarterback/3/

Just some more positive feedback for you so you keep doing this. I loved it, and I learned a lot. I never played football at any level (other than 7th grade flag football, where, to give myself credit, I was a scoring machine at running back). So despite the fact that I have been watching football ardently for 35 years, I know very little about the technical scheme design side of the game beyond the basics. This is especially true for defensive backfield schemes, because you don't see the full picture as often, and because the announcers usually do a pretty superficial job of explaining things - maybe with good reason - perhaps the average fan doesn't want to know too much. Anyway, I love learning more about something I've been watching for decades. I read your stuff with great pleasure, and very slowly so I can take it in. Looking forward to more. Thanks!

I think Robey already took that spot. He played a lot more than Brooks in the opener, even before Brooks got hurt, IIRC.

Pretty entertaining. Especially this last bit: "After the game we all headed back to the tailgate to congratulate the Bills fans and commiserate amongst ourselves like I'm sure all of you have. After the crowds started thinning out we went to a bar down the street and watched Andre Reed, wearing his nice new Bills Hall of Fame jacket, go to work picking up women." http://www.carolinahuddle.com/boards/topic/90875-my-buffalo-trip-report/

Fantastic. Thanks. With all those WOFers, I guess there was too much mojo in the building to lose.

Yeah, the spectacular ending from a guy playing his second game does make the hatchet jobs tougher .

Yep, he missed some throws. Every QB misses some throws, virtually every week. Picking out a few plays to make your argument is cheap. No one on the other side is arguing that a few select highlight plays made him a pro-bowler. He certainly wasn't great. But you have to look at his game as a whole. Picking out the plays you are picking out is lazy thinking, which yes you are entitled to, but seriously . . .

You have a very strange definition of 'terrible.' He was certainly spotty - missed some throws, had the two turnovers - but he ended up with almost 300 yards and close to a 70% completion rate, which did not all occur in the final two minutes. Plus he kept his cool. Kept the team in the game mentally. He is a work in progress, to be sure, but 'terrible'? Give me a break.

Well, on offense we did. New England is way down at the bottom. Manuel was clean all day.

Don't the servers just load one page at a time in either case? (There's admittedly a good chance I have no idea what I'm talking about.)

When Manuel struggles during the season (which he will), you keep playing him and let him work through it. Even if we had a savvy vet, I wouldn't put him in just because Manuel hits a slump - barring injury or complete and sustained collapse over multiple games where it is clear Manuel is losing it mentally, of course. But I don't expect that to happen. If the kid is your starter, play him. Ride the ups and downs. And evaluate his and the team's progress at the end of the year.

Just saw that. He was pretty good in Senior Bowl practices. Could be worth a look. Edit: Whoops. Wrong Trufant.

3 UDFAs still alive: Tuel, Robey, Cross

Was Jamal Westerman on anyone's final roster prediction? Because if they trade B. Scott, looks like he is sticking as a backup LB.

DIdn't Tuel throw 2 - one to Rodgers and one to Kaufman? Maybe I'm remembering wrong.

They already sell the ticket online to international customers via Game Pass. You can buy a 1 team subscription. Or you can get the full deal plus archives of all games of the last few years, including condensed versions and eye in the sky coaches' versions. When you watch live, you can even select the TV audio, or either team's radio broadcast audio (used to have trouble syncing, but they are starting to improve that). Costs $199 this year for the full deal including playoffs and year round NFL Network. I never have trouble with the streaming, and you can set the quality level on whatever you want, all the way up to HD, depending on your bandwidth. That is certainly the way they will ultimately go for the U.S. (at least as an option to complement broadcast TV). Whether that happens this next go around or sometime down the line remains to be seen.

Ho Hope you are right. Good point that they are all in their prime (or pre-prime with the younger ones). There is no one in that lineup who, if healthy, shouldn't have several good years left. I am so hoping this aggressive, swirling, body-punching defense we are seeing in preseason isn't a mirage. Even if the Bills aren't that great this year, I would be content if they were at least a little scary.