jahnyc

I have no significant issues with the Buffalo sports reporters, unless they report things that are not true or factually inaccurate. They express their opinions, and it is up to each of us to decide whether we agree or disagree. Sure they have been negative over the last number of years, but not always without good reason. Bottom line is that it is up to the team (and the overall organization) to shut them up with a winning season and a spot in the playoffs.

I am worried about the starters on defense as well. Kind of an odd mix. Some really good, blue chip players, such as Gilmore, Darby, Dareus and Hughes and then some guys who should not be in a starting lineup. Overall, Rex has less talent this year on defense and more pressure. His abilities as a defensive coach will be tested this year.

While I agree that we have some quality starters, I think our back-ups at TE, OG, C, LB, WR, DE. and OLB are poor. One thing to support this is that the Bills have been picking up discarded players from other teams at those positions over the last week or so, such as Biermann (already cut), Lewis (C/OG), McCray (LB), and Humber (LB). Not sure why posters here are so comfortable with our back-ups if it is clear that the coaching staff and FO are not. We will see how things play out this season. One thing that continues to surprise me is that many posters seem to think we have a good group of WRs. I don't see much after Watkins. I hope I am wrong.

I think our WRs are way below average after Watkins. Goodwin may be able to make other rosters, but he needs to show that he can stay healthy. Manuel was a reach and never should have been taken in the first round. I don't think our depth has been helped by Whaley trading away some of our draft picks over the last few years.

Maybe, but our depth is still worse than most, in my view.

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.