The Red King

Ah, but this is a day for the ladies to do the chasing as well. Happy Dingus Day, all!

The Buffalo Bills are trading away their first five picks to acquire a hot dog, confirmed here! ;-)

Tough question to answer. My gut is telling me we're looking at 9-7 again...but what I'm really unsure of is if it will be enough to get in. I...I'm going to say 'yes', and rather then backing in, I have a hunch a key Week 17 victory, perhaps an upset, gets them in. Last year's team overachieved, yes. But let's not overlook the positives of that. Be it coaching, heart, or a combination of the two, they did more then looked possible on paper. Nothing saying with the same coach and changing culture that doesn't happen again and this team pulls a few more surprises. Tyrod is an anomoly, the ultimate baseline. He is a die that only rolls '3' or '4'. He kept some games close, but when the game neared the end if we were behind he couldn't give us the high rolls we needed. He took us as far as be could, and will do well in Cleveland, where 8-8 would be adored. We hit TT's ceiling, and when Cleveland finally does, their rookie should be ready. That being said, we don't know what AJ will bring. There is a very limited body of work to go by, and it doesn't include Bills' players, coaches, or schemes. What he does give is a chance to be better then TT and the risk of being worse. If nothing else, I'm hoping he's willing to throw deep. Keep in mind McCoy was running uphill. Having a star running back and a QB that only throws short makes defense easier. You put eleven players, a couple cheerleaders and an assistant coach in the box and dare TT to throw deep. Hopefully AJ, if he's playing, will at least stretch out the D and make the offense less predictable. For every game we barely won thanks to turnovers or such, there were games we barely lost, such as the Panthers and Bengels. I think we're going to gain and lose ground in equal measure this year, but our long-term outlook will look better. And, if nothing else, I think it will be entertaining.

None of the players you mentioned receive the venom Trent does. Hell, you've proven my point this thread just by labelling him "Trentative". That's why it's being discussed. Nobody is claiming the guy would have been HoF had he not been concussed, but many think he would not have been anywhere near as bad. And if that's the case, he simply doesn't deserve the abuse he gets. He certainly didn't look "Trentative" leading a come from behind win against the Raiders.

Thanks, all. This is the kind of discussion I hoped to have. I'm not arguing Trent would have been a HoF QB, or that all the problems were the result of the concussion. Just, to me, there did seem to be very noticible changes, mainly to his decision-making abilities. If I recall, just before the Arizona game, Trent executed a brilliant 2-minute drill to pull off a comeback win vs. the Raiders. As we all know after the concussion his two-minute drills were awful, with constant check-downs and horrific clock management. It just seems like he couldn't think quite as fast as before, and sadly, that will kill a QB.

After reading a post on Polian that mentioned Edwards, I figured I could put up a non-draft related one as a change of pace. Trent Edwards started hot out of the gate, giving us hope for the first time in awhile. And then we played the Cards, and Trent was blasted into next week. The purpose of my post is to see if anyone holds my theory, that Trent never fully recovered from the concussion. That, had he never been concussed, he might well have been a star QB. I know, I know, I can feel your skeptisism. I shared it. But then I saw it. One specific game against Miami made me question. Edwards took a shot, and something seemed to click. He was sharper, more decisive. He led them to an impressive, efficient TD drive. A later hit and he was back to captain checkdown. But what really drove it home was far later that game. 3rd and long, and yet again he checked down and took off...even though it was obvious he wouldn't make it. He was run out of bounds 2-3 yards shy. Or...was about to be. He ran to the sideline and then just pulled up and stopped, not past the sideline but just before it. Even the defender seemed confused. He eased up, and just as he was about to make contact, Edwards finally stepped out. Once I saw that, I knew something was still wrong with Edwards. I went from being frustrated with him, to pitying him. And wondering, was the Edwards we saw him at his best, or were we watching a quarterback that never recovered from an early concussion? What do you all think?