yungmack

Good player. Is KC going to let him go? Any word on his health?

A couple of names keep showing up here that just don't make sense. First up is Borland. The guy is a midget in an era when the trend is towards big and fast. I cannot see him fitting in with the current Bills at all. The second is Tajh Boyd. Wow. Have you seen him play? At best, he's a project and the last thing the Bills need is yet another "Project with Potential" QB considering they already have 3 of those. Better to pick up an established backup. But if you absolutely, positively must draft a middle-of-the-pack QB, there are a bunch of them and you could start with McCarron or Derek Carr (who actually does have upside potential in my opinion). And could we stop with the TE mania in the first round, as if that was the one big thing keeping the Bills out of the SB? As to guys like Skov, Seferian-Jenkins, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Yankey, I wonder which of them will still be there in the second and third rounds. On the plus side, I'm intrigued by the mention of Su'a-Filo and Zumwalt out of UCLA in later rounds along with Christian Jones of FSU. With the Combine coming up, I'd recommend checking out Cassius Marsh of UCLA. He's a fast and quick 260 lb DE with sideline-to-sideline speed who's kind of under the radar nationally. And he hits hard. If he's there in the fifth round or later, he might make for an interesting LB experiment.

I would amend this slightly: If you are hurrying the QB with pressure, and containing the runners, this is the BEST defense.

I seem to remember that Travis Henry grew up a Bills fan...that was his Pop Warner team.

What if Manziel, Bridgewater or Bortles were available at #9 (I doubt they will be but...)? Would you take one of them? Here's a method to help you decide: If EJ was coming out this year, would you take him over any of those 3 guys? If your answer is No, then I think it's clear what should be done and I hope Whaley et al are asking themselves that very question.

Any draft geeks know where Derek Carr is projected to be picked?

The Bills might take a QB late in the draft but I don't think they will draft one of the top QBs in this year because that would essentially be saying to EJ "Bye bye." I think this coming year is the full-on, EJ Is The Man season. If he doesn't get hurt, and if he plays very well, then we can all relax. On the other hand, if he flounders again, then the Bills draft a QB in 2015. For my money, I'd target Marcus Mariota. I've watched him a lot, and he keeps taking huge steps forward. To me, he looks like a hybrid of Kaepernick and Russell Wilson.

I guess you haven't seen live music lately. For about the last 10, 20 years no one plugs in their guitars. That would be like singing thru a megaphone. The tech has moved on. That said, music at halftime is pre-recorded anyway.

Why do they even have a halftime show? And if they feel they must have one, why does it have to be drawn from the same narrow dull segment of the entertainment sector? If the league is looking for spectacle, bring in the Cirque team to produce it. Or do something mad-ass crazy as the opening of the London Olympics. Jeez, they were in New York, home to Broadway. Doing bits and pieces from classic musicals might have been interesting. Dwarf tossing, Chicken wing eating contest. Cat juggling. The New York Philharmonic playing the hits of Judas Priest. Denver cheerleaders vs. Seattle's in a lingerie contest. Please, anything but another tired or passe pop artist inflicting themselves on us. At least no country "artists" were invited.

Oh, lordy, this one again. Please try to grasp the concept that you can have the top receivers and tight ends in the history of the league and unless you have a QB who can reliably use them, your team will look just like the 2013 Bills. By no one's estimation were the Seahawks receivers in the same class as the Broncos. So whose did better in the final analysis?

A couple of odd things I noticed yesterday: Chris Berman had a stat on 4 of the great SB dynasties & they were the youngest team, or close to the youngest team, when their run began: 70s Steelers, 80s Niners, 90s Cowboys & 2000s Pats. Note that the Seahawks are among the youngest ever. EDIT: Forgot to mention the 70s Dolphins. They lost on their first shot, then won two and had that undefeated season. The Seahawks make a very big deal about the "12th Man." Seattle streets were hung with 12th man flags, etc. So, for pure weirdness, both halfs began with a Seattle score in 12 seconds, for a total of 9 points, which was enough to have won the game even if they didn't score again.

There was an LA Times article this weekend where Carroll said he tried to get Lynch as soon as he took the job, and that the 'Hawks contacted the Bills 5 times (!) before the Bills relented. With that much interest in him you'd think the Bills would have gotten more for him.

What? No Anthony Barr?

Absolutely false. The Dodgers haven't been to a World Series in over a quarter of century, and were more than mediocre for many of those years, yet led, or were near the top of, MLB attendance all that time (until the last days of Frank). The wretched Lakers continue to be a big draw in spite of Jim Buss and exorbitant ticket prices. And the Raiders had (and still have) a huge following in the area. Any decline they experienced in LA had more to do with the danger in the Coliseum neighborhood in the 80s and 90s (which is massively lower now) and the anarchic conditions inside the stadium that drove the more weak-kneed, like me, to give up there season tickets.

I pretty much agree with your assessment and would also note that Kroenke owns several other properties in the area so the fact that this purchase got all this attention says to me that he's publicizing it as leverage with St. Louis for a new stadium there. The one thing I'd disagree with you is the Coliseum area. In ten years, if not sooner, it will be one of the more desirable areas of the city as "gentrification" continues to move south along Fig. Just today, the LA Times did a story on yet another purchase of a big piece of property in the Staples Center/Convention Center area (the second one this month by Chinese investors). The whole area is under construction, with condos, hotels, etc. The extension of the Expo Line and the Wilshire subway to the ocean in the next few years will accelerate the process.

Maybe you should watch more than two games because, while Barr is still learning the position, he's far from "extremely raw." And what's with the Maybin comparison? If Barr is a "wonder," at least give him credit for being what he is, a two-year wonder. As to Mack, I like him too. But the level of competition he played against is no where near what Barr faced.

I don't get the support for Incognito, a known cancer on any team he played for, a lout and a sociopath. And it's not as if he's an elite player in any case. The other thing I don't get is the faction around here that thinks "kicking ass" is the solution. Dudes, it's the 21st century; are we still solving our differences like cavemen? I'm all for standing up to bullies, especially when we're kids. But when grown men start throwing fists, that's called assault-and-battery and it's a felony, punishable by prison time. A part of me would love to see Incognito knocked on his ass. But then the rational part of my mind kicks in. It's one thing to defend yourself when you get braced in the street, but throwing your hands on the workplace? Seriously? That's an acceptable solution?

I have seen nearly every one of his games. Barr is the real deal. Keep in mind he only changed over to the D two seasons ago so he's a bit of a work in progress. But he has grown and improved steadily. I believe he will make an immediate impact wherever he winds up playing but he is probably a season or two away from really hitting his stride. Another kid from UCLA who you might want to keep your eye on is Myles Jack, who just finished his freshman season playing dominantly on both offense and defense.

I don't like Peyton Manning. I don't like Pete Carroll. Hmm, who to root for? When in doubt, support the original AFL franchise. So, Go Broncos.

That's colder than a Yukon rattlers heart. But funny as hell.

Stop the madness. Please. Unless EJ vastly improves AND the O-line is upgraded enough to open holes and pass block at a consistently high level, you could take nothing but WRs in this draft, or bring in nothing but top TEs, and absolutely zero will change...Using high draft choices on WRs and TEs might upgrade those positions but will do nothing to plug the real holes: the O-line and stopping the run. That's where the focus has to be. No "luxury" picks this year (unless FA signings take care of those two areas).

Whoa! Ghetto culture? Whether or not Sherman was a jerk, there was nothing in the interview that was remotely "ghetto." No foul language, zero "ghetto" slang, no gang signs. He spoke standard English, complete sentences and presented coherent thoughts. He was about as "ghetto" as John McEnroe or Jimmy Conners in their heyday when their diatribes were much more frequent and vile than Sherman's. BTW, there is a lot of talk about Compton around here that assumes it is some trashed out, devastated hell hole. It's not. It is a suburb, with all that implies. It is filled with normal middle class people, lots of well maintained single family homes, and nothing that resembles slums. Yes, there's crime but a lot of that has to do with abutting some real tough neighborhoods in LA. As far as that goes, crime in Compton is at its lowest level in decades. The biggest "criminal enterprise" in Compton in the last few years has been corrupt government. Believe me, in SoCal, that is far from unique.

Detroit may be a mess, but that's not where the coach would live anyway. He'd be out in one of the prosperous, safe & attractive suburbs, just like the players do.

Whaley says a transition plan is in place. Makes me think Donnie Henderson might be the guy. If so, I think most of the Bills would be behind that, Byrd included.