FLFan

Could not happen too a nicer guy. Screw him, and the Patriots.

Really? How so?

This was predictable from Marrone. Not saying Bortles was ever going to be good, but there was never a chance that Marrone was going to chalk this year up to trying to make him so. Take a young developing QB, add a washed up veteran, and then Marrone and Hacket, and what you get is a young QB with destroyed confidence and the washed up veteran starting to "not lose games" making Marrone look good for getting them to 7 or 8 wins. He has already demonstrated this philosophy as I recall.

Could be that he realized he can no longer compete. He looked very old and slow the other night.

He waited too long to pick up the blitzer. Stood back and did not attack. That was his man that tipped the ball.

You are certainly intitled to your opinion, but there is no objective evidence to suggest that.

Ok. Understood. Still think it is a bit early to come to that conclusion.

And you know this how? I also do not understand how "putting the ball in their face" equates to success. You don't have to behave like an idiot, like OBJ, to be good. Some players just let their play speak for them.

It's not about what it would cost for one year but about where you want to focus resources long term. As for the dollars he would command if he actually has a good year, those are the numbers being thrown around for the 2014 class. No way Watkins was going to discount his value. Same issue with Gilmore. As soon as they decided not to pick up his option the dye was cast. I could go either way on the decision to pick up the option, but the fact remains that commiting that guaranteed money to a player who has proved nothing would be a gamble, and makes no sense if you have already decided to move on.

Once camp closes and teams set their roster the value of trading for a player lessens dramatically. Also, every day, every practice, and every preseason game, creates another injury opportunity. Obviously I was not involved in negotiations but it certainly seems from Beane's comments that the Rams interest became serious over the past few days. That is the time to strike. Unlike some, I would assume that any other inquiries were evaluated as being serious or not. I doubt there was that much interest actually. When would you suggest his value would be higher? He is not signed past this season so at the end of the year there is not much value as teams will just wait for free agency. The trade deadline is a joke. How does a team reasonably integrate a player into their system at mid season? Should they waited another week or two to see if the Rams became more desperate? How does that help the Bills to get their team ready?

You do realize Beane was not here when that decision was made right? McD was, but Whaley was the GM. Also, what is a "reasonable number" clearly depends on your point of view. Committing $15m guaranteed to a WR you are not even sure can play this year much less next year is a bit of a gamble. Back in March, when this call needed to be made, Watkins recovery from foot surgery was far from assured, and still remains to be seen, although he appears full speed right now. I would love to hear the cats screaming around here if the Bills guaranteed Watkins contract for 2018 and he ended up injured. As it stands now, it would certainly appear that the now GM, along with the coach, do believe planning to commit to an $80 to $100 m contract for a WR does not fit their long term plan. I am fine with that. They sold high, whether you believe it or not. His value would only go down from here, and is higher than it was 3 months ago now that the Rams were desperate and Watkins has shown he is healthy.

This is all true and why there is no reason for the hysteria and speculation being thrown about, but rationality is no fun. They were having a bad practice, the coach straightened them out, and some players let their aggression and emotion get away from them a bit on the field. I am not sure I see how this is any different from any other training camp ever, except for the way MC D handled it, which I very much liked.

This was all bound to happen at some point and even more likely with the events of the weekend. Players are on edge and still processing the trades. It is all about how the coaches react and how the team leaders react. Chill people, give it some time. As for Jerry Hughes, who would have bet against this happening at some point given his personality and history?

Yes, he is getting tiresome.

See ya.

This is very much on point. To me, the previous. I coaching staff ever challenged him to be more than he has already shown he was. The offense was designed "around his skill sets" without ever really trying to push more out of it. We have seen the results, both good and bad. What I like about Dennison's approach is that he is expecting more, teaching him to be more. He may or may not be capable. We will see. At least the days of limiting our offensive thinking because of perceived limitations seem to be over. If Taylor can combine his natural abilities with this more disciplined approach we may have something special. If not then time to move on.

The chicken littles are out in force today on a variety of threads. Its going to be a long year around here.

The Jets tank rolls on.

That's a possibility but far from a certainty.

So why is there an assumption that it must be a lowball offer? Compared to what? Why the assumption that Beane " can't close the deal"? Did anyone consider that maybe Boldin wants to think about it for a day or two? Does anyone know what other opportunities he is considering, or what his criteria might be? Did anyone consider that maybe the Bills just are not that desperate to have him? I would love to be on the other side of a negotiating table with some of the posters here.

Yeah, you already said that. I think we got it. Thanks.

Forbes had the value of the Bills below $700m prior to the sale. They have no idea how to value these franchises.

That hit got the crowd fired up and the Bills as well. Even though I was only 8 years old I still remember that feeling. Perfectly clean and legal hit too, even by today's standards. The original "beast mode". He definitely played with an attitude and would put a hurt on you.

I was at that '64 game with my father. I swear you could hear Keith Lincoln's ribs break in the stands after that hit. Changed the game.