yungmack

Law of averages says he's due for a loss.

Short answer: No. But Marrone has likely put himself in line for being removed if Orton flounders. Benching EJ after four games smacks of both panic and a misunderstanding of what this season was supposed to be about.

I don't think even EJ's father would defend his performance yesterday. All his worst tendencies were on ample display with very few of his good points. But the play of Pears and Henderson was horrible, and the game "plan" and play calling by Hackett were nauseating, and the WRs were sub-standard. So which one of those factors was the reason for the loss? I'd say All Of The Above.

After the Bills game we switched to the SF Bills and EJ Kaepernick. Or so it appeared in the first half. It was remarkable how similar the Bills and Niners looked, from head scratcher play calls to lousy throws, from porous o-line play to Kaepernick's amazinly EJ-like tendency to choose the wrong receiver when others were wide open. All that saved the Niners were the running game which like the Bills they kept going away from, and some very fine catches of terrible passes, unlike the Bills receivers. Didn't see the second half but the final score seems to show at least some improvement in play. As to our EJ, that was the worst overall he's been. Whatever natural instincts he had seem to have been coached out of him (that is the downside of being "coachable"). His penchant for choosing just about the worst option among his receivers is maddening as is his reluctance to really take off and run. I could go on but you guys have pretty well covered his strengths and weaknesses. In his defense, Hackett isn't doing him any favors with his play calling. That TD pass to Williams is about as much a gimme as there is so of course, the Bills throw short 99% of the time. As to benching EJ, I doubt that happens, at least before the bye week. To do so would be an admission of failure that I don't think Whaley, Marrone or Hackett are ready to declare just yet.

Historically, on average, O linemen score the highest on the test, and RBs the lowest.

Upon rerunning the game, there are 3 plays I want to mention. On the first red zone, EJ made a horrible pass to Woods who would have scored with a decent throw. On the plays leading up to the 3rd FG, they needed a first down. EJ made a medicre pass to Sammy that, had it been better, looked like it would have easily led to a first and maybe more. And in I think the fourth quarter, EJ had Sammy (might have been someone else) playing off the line to his left. As soon as the ball was snapped, EJ turned to make the quick throw. Problem was, three defenders were prepared to level the receiver so instead of firing the ball to the receiver, EJ threw it into the ground at his feet. That decision spoke volumes to me. There are many QBs who would have taken the easy reception even if it lost yards and got the receiver knocked silly. That EJ correctly diagnosed the situation and made the right choice, all in a split second, really got me excited.

Maybe get Pop Warner to coach the team and see if Bronco Nagurski's available.

Why don't one of you take JMora under your wing and be his guide for the weekend? He's coming from freakin' Mexico City (Distrito Federal) for heavens sake, so let's assume that renting a car at the airport, getting downtown to a hotel then trying to negotiate his way to the Ralph for the game might all prove to be at least a little bit confusing. And advice like "stay downtown," "Hammer's Lot," et al, though well-intentioned, are probably useless. Considering he'll probably get in late Saturday, I think his best bet would be a motel closer to the stadium, like the ones in Hamburg. Or if one of you has a spare bedroom...Hey, Hands Across The Border and all that. Maybe one of you can give him your cell number so he can make contact in case of a jam-up. Heck, Scott Sarama might want to connect with him and do a story for TBD. And before anyone get's on me for not doing any of those things I'm suggesting, well, he's welcome to stay here in LA and watch the game with me at the local pub.

You "hate" Brady? That word gets tossed around quite a bit on this site, and whenever I see it, I wonder if the poster really means "hate." That's a very strong word, and if you mean it, then I'm perplexed. Personally, not only don't I "hate" Brady, I very much appreciate his talent. I don't like the Yankees but I consider myself fortunate to have been alive during Jeter's career. Same goes for Brady.

NFL Sunday Ticket is free this weekend for all Directv subscribers.

I like pro football and I appreciate when it's played well so I'll pay attention to any good team out there. And yes, that includes NE earlier in the century. Loved the Seahawks in the last SB. But the only team I'm a true fan of is the Bills. I believe it's a form of mental or emotional illness. Maybe both. BTW, I don't dislike any other team...not even the Cowboys: them I hate.

What if EJ looks good...not great but good, like his accuracy percentage is up 8 or 10 points, along with his QB rating, and his TD to INT ratio is in the middle of the pack, but the team is heading for the 6-10 to 8-8 range? Pretty easy sitting a guy who's a total screwup and a lot harder if he's "showing signs of improvement." I'd much prefer he was clearly bad or clearly good than being just okay. But that's what I'm most afraid of, that he'll improve just enough to justify sticking with him another year.

Haven't read all the posts yet so I'm pretty sure someone else has corrected this, but in case they haven't, it's "toe" the company line.

Marginally talented? The guy was the co-defensive MVP of the freakin' SEC. And Herm Edwards rap on him, that he was strictly a 4-3 edge rusher is itself bizarre as one of the most sought after positions is an effective edge rusher. He may be limited but he's not marginally talented. Two different things.

In all this talk about Orton, I am still puzzled by the Tuel cut. Not really questioning that he isn't up to being on the 53 roster under ordinary circumstances. But these aren't ordinary circumstances. Right now, the only QB with Bills experience and familiarity with both the players and the playbook is EJ. So imagine that in the first quarter of the Bears game, Manuel is knocked out. In comes Orton, with like a week to learn the playbook and the apparently tightly timed receiver routes, and what do you suppose that's going to look like? And what if, God forbid, something happens to Orton? So, yeah, Tuel isn't very good. But he does know the plays and the players so for at least the first month, it seemed a no-brainer that he'd be on the bench "just in case." Cutting him seems as irresponsible by the FO as not going after a solid backup in the off-season. The first month of the season is going to be very much "hold your breath" time.

Good for Wood.

From the Bills site: "The Buffalo Bills today announced that the team has signed DB Deon Broomfield, LB Jimmy Gaines, WR Caleb Holley, DE Ike Igbinosun, DE Bryan Johnson, DB Kenny Ladler and QB Jeff Tuel to the Practice Squad."

A friend, now older but once a leading player, has a bumper sticker that reads, "Give Blood/Play Hurling."

If you want your opinions to be respected around here, the least you can do is be up to date. Yes , scouting sucked under Modrak. But when Brandon became GM, about the first thing he did was bring in Buddy Nix with the mandate to overhaul and enlarge the scouting staff, both collegiate and professional. If you use that hire as your starting point, I don't see how you can come to any other conclusion than that the Bills are vastly improved in those areas. Perfect? Of course not; no team is. But just look at this year's roster and it's packed with Bills draftees, UDFA signings and excellently chosen FAs. Thre are worrisome areas with this team but the scouting department isn't one of them.

Who doesn't?

Ah, a reference to the Coen brothers. Nicely done, sir!

Yes I do...because it is. Bills D line is better than the Rams, and needs zero upgrading at this point. QBs on the other hand...or punters or return men...now you're talking.

Sure...Let's sign a guy who couldn't make the Rams roster...because the one area that is short of talented players is the D-line. Jeez. Are you serious or just trolling?

Well, Blackrock does have security, but yes, I meant Blackwater. The family's old bailiwick slipped in there somehow.

"EJ sucked at FSU, sucked so far in Bufflow, will suck forever and ever amen." That sums up a certain group of posters opinions on EJ. So, okay, coming out of FSU, what was the consensus on him? That he had great size, great hands, a ton of athletic ability, a drive to succeed, a hard-worker, intelligent, but that he was a raw talent that needed work and time and patience to develop into a top QB. The Bills themselves acknowledged this. But due to circumstances, he was forced into action before much in the way of "training him up" for the starting job could be done. Then he got hurt, yadda yadda yadda. Now he's got 10 starts under his belt, one focused off season and TC. His partisans, including his teammates, say he's made great strides. His critics say he hasn't. Here's what I think, particularly after listening to Kelso: EJ has spent a lot of time correcting and improving certain fundamentals. For now, in preseason, he's thinking his way through those lessons rather than just letting it rip. In other words, he's training his body's "muscle memory" in a conscious way which, we and he hope, will become second nature by or at least during the regular season. With those improvements in his game now internalized, he will then "let it rip" automatically. Then we should see the kid from FSU with all that raw talent, now more polished, fulfilling all that promise. That at least is the hope and the plan. And I for one would like to focus on the positive side instead of the negative because I honestly believe there really is more upside than down in him.