jahnyc

Our depth seems very weak going into this season, more so than in recent years. The lack of depth impacts almost every position, including, in particular, O-line, WR, TE, and LB. I also see very few back-ups that are up and coming type players, so I am not sure we will see many jumps in player development over this season from that pool of players. This may be in part due to our salary cap situation in the offseason where we did not have the flexibility to sign any quality back-ups.

It is striking how poor our depth is at almost every position, including, in particular, O-line, WR, TE, and LB. I also see very few non-starters that are up and coming type players, so I am not sure we will see many jumps in player development over this season from that pool of players.

Way too many distractions this off season and into the preseason. Sure seems that the current front office is more willing to take chances on players with some stuff in their past than previous front offices. There have been a lot of unfortunate things that have happened, including injuries, suspensions, and involvement in a fight, but clearly some of it is bad luck (i.e., Ragland's injury). In terms of blame for the other stuff, seems like it should be spread around rather than assigning it to one person or group. At this point, the front office, the coaching staff, the medical staff, and the contract negotiators should all be on some kind of notice that they individually and collectively need to shape up.

This could be a one time thing based on the specific circumstances of this situation. A friend from Pittsburgh told me that Bell changed his cell phone number and never received the call for the random drug test (and apparently there was evidence to support this).

I think it is a real issue, and given the amount of guaranteed money in the contract (which I believe is significant), someone should be fired over this if ownership was not fully aware of the concession, ramifications and lack of precedent in other NFL player contracts.

If no other team agrees to this language, especially with regard to a player that previously has been suspended, than it is worse than egregious.

Looks like we get some relatively minor cap savings because of the suspension for base and bonus that otherwise would have been payable to Dareus over the first four games of the regular season. Do we know if this translates into immediate cap savings (and available for use now) or does it happen over the course of the first four games of the season?

Not sure what to make of this team. The Bills have a lot of holes on offense and defense, but they also have some very good players. On offense, the WRs are weak after Sammy and the right side of the o-line is probably one of the worst in the NFL. At TE, there is not an adequate number two or three after Clay. On defense, our linebackers are very weak, and I am not sure who is replacing Mario. Overall, there is little depth on the team. On the positive side, we have some very good players. Sammy, McCoy, Clay (fragile), Glenn, and Incognito are all very strong players. Hopefully, Taylor will continue to improve. I also have confidence in Roman to improve the offense. On defense, Gilmore and Dareus should be stars this year if they can stay healthy. Same with A. Williams. Darby was great last year and hopefully that will continue this season. I hope Hughes has a better season and K. Williams is healthy. A real mixed bag, but probably not enough to get us to the playoffs this year.

Partial tear of the ACL?

I think the Pegulas may want continuity, but if the team ends up with an under .500 record, they decide to do something. What that something is, who knows. Could be Whaley and/or Ryan getting fired, or maybe the hiring of a football czar (finally). The possibility of near term firings likely will be foreclosed if the Bills make the playoffs.

I may be in the minority on this, but if the football front office staff and coaches think that Foles would be an upgrade over EJ, then the Bills should pursue Foles. Not a knock on Taylor, but his style of play does concern me in terms of being healthy for a full season.

Mr. Blue Sky-- ELO

With new owners with deep pockets who are committed to keeping the Bills in Buffalo, it seems really disingenuous for Goodell to be questioning the long-term viability/success of the Bills in Buffalo without a new stadium. At some point it would be great to have a new downtown stadium (easy for me to say not living in Buffalo), but Goodell is just coming across as pushing the narrow agenda of the greedy NFL owners who only care about maximizing league revenue. I don't like what happened with the Rams and what is happening with the Raiders possibly moving to Las Vegas. The NFL eventually will lose its base of support if it continues down this path.

It is true that Crohn's can be difficult to diagnose, and at least the medical staff seems to have been in contact with Henderson and/or his doctors. Still does not explain the lack of contact from the coaching staff. Really seems like an awful thing he went through. I am impressed that he will be back so soon and wants to compete. Says a lot about the young man. I hope he will be able to play this year, but I wonder if he will need more time to fully recover from the surgeries.

Agent says the medical staff did not diagnose the medical condition. Also surprised that no one from the coaching staff reached out to him, particularly since it sounds like he went through a really rough time. Only now hearing from the agent, but none of this reflects well on the Bills coaching or medical staff.

I think it is a bit early to be condemning Rex about this. I have a feeling there is more to this story about Henderson, but we will see.

I think it would be hard for Whaley and Rex to survive if the record is 7-9 or worse this season. Just my opinion.

There is now more video/info about the Bills offense (schemes, tendencies and players) after the first season with Roman as our offensive coordinator. Opposing defenses will be more prepared and looking to exploit weaknesses on the o-line and in Taylor's game. I expect the first thing they will try to do is shut down the running game. We will see how that goes.

I assume opposing defenses will really go after the right side of our o-line this season. Having a mobile QB will help with this, but hopefully they will be adequate in pass protection so that Taylor does not get killed.

I don't think the national media is looking to make up stories about the Bills. I think the stuff about the pressure on the front office and Rex has been reported by too many to be entirely inaccurate.

Yes, it is true that none of us know what the Pegulas are thinking about the front office or Rex, but the reality is that there has been a lot of reporting from the local press and the national press about Whaley and Rex being under scrutiny. I doubt that all of these stories and reports are made up, and likely reflect in some fashion the thinking/thoughts of the Pegulas.

Maybe this is a czar, maybe a consultant, not sure if there is much of a difference. This would not be for me and other fans who are not qualified to assess Whaley's time with the Bills. It would be for the new owners who have spent a lot money for a team that has not had success on the field in a very long time. I guess we will see if this season is different. I certainly hope that it is.

What I really want is a performance review of the front office and personnel department (including scouts) by an independent senior football expert. Let this person make determinations about how the front office and personnel department are operating, assessments of recent drafts, signings and trades, and whether there is a blueprint for future success. There is such a disconnect between the perception of many fans on this board about how Whaley is performing versus what is reported in the local and national press about Whaley's job security and long-term future. I really would like to know what an experienced, well respected football person thinks about it all.

BillsVet is right. The national media has been generally negative about the Bills over the last number years and they have been generally correct. The Bills front office and players need to prove them wrong at some point (hopefully). I hope that Lawson and Ragland are upgrades, but I am not sure it is realistic to count on them being upgrades in their rookie season, or that Washington will be a capable starter.

Sorry to bring the Watkins trade into this, but we are drafting in need in part because of that trade. I know there are a lot of differing views on the actual trade, but losing a first round pick always hurts. In addition, the KuJo pick really hurt us. We really needed him to be a starting caliber RT. He isn't, and it will hurt us until we find one.