Webster Guy

agree with AlphaDawg. We dumped a poor NFL LB and got a good one in return. If you don't think Hughes is getting 8 plus sacks this year you arent watching

I think its likely that Stevie will miss a handful of games this year, he's an injury prone dude. Coaches have to have a possession type guy to play that role when 13 is out or slumping or whatever. I think Hogan has earned it, and can be that guy. Easley stays for sure, and i think they keep Rogers for the upside next season. Thats my 7. Brad is gone.

Last years talent was not as good. Kyle and Mario hurt, Dareus below average, LB's weak or inexperienced, wilson regressed, gilmore a rook etc. Wanny and Chan ( and I ) feel that you need to get pressure with 4 in order to have a great D. On paper in the preseason it looked like we were poised to do that but our run defense AND pass rush were weak. I blame Wanny for not adjusting as the season went on ( or even at halftimes of most games) but new defensive schemes are usually overrated. There is nothing Pettine is doing that Brady or even Sanchez havent seen a hundred times before. Nothing. To force punts and field goals on D we need healthy, disciplined players that can outplay the man in front of them and win their respective battles. When it comes to NFL defensive success I put 95% of it on player performance and talent. Coaching 5%. Belicheck is a pretty decent defensive coach but several seasons I recall the Pats D being ranked poorly compared to the league. Its all about the talent, depth and player productivity. With that in mind, I forsee a much better Bills D with Kiko taking NFL defensive rookie of the year honors. We missed out on Keuchly but we got his twin this year.

Calling all numbers guys....... Does anybody know where we stand with available monies at this point in time? I ask this for two reasons: 1) We let Levitre go which (so far this year) looks like it was a huge hit to the most important side of the O-line. Maybe Colin Brown will come around, and YEAH I understand that its in the past and we have already let our most dependable and productive O-lineman walk, but I'm trying to figure out if we could have kept him. I'm sure EJ Manuel will be wondering that a few times this year as well. And CJ and Freddie. 2) Byrd hasn't had one snap with our team or even a workout with our new defense and the Patriots are less than three weeks away. Both of these things make our team worse. Significantly worse. A weak backside for your rookie QB and an absentee free safety that won't practice until he absolutely has to. If we have the money available then I'm digging out my Whaley is Cheap shirt (crossed out the Ralph, put in Whaley) and I'm gonna wear it to Practice Camp.

Your "mailed it in" post is ridiculous. Go watch the games again. Mario got better as the season went on, especially when we were out of playoff contention. He got 10.5 sacks (only 8 guys in the league notched 12 or more) and he was batting balls and playing the run well too. His STRENGTH was the last 5 games. Exactly the opposite of "mailing it in". I saw a better team player, more hustle and a strong season finish. He will have a pro bowl year this season.

This is a slippery slope boys. It's like hooking up with a chick that you hate but she's hot and it's late and it's your best chance to score. Sure you can temporarily block out the fact that you loathe her for some short term joy, but to quote the great Frank Drebin "being with her is like doing a shot of Draino--sure it'll clean you out, but it'll leave you feeling hollow inside......" I've had Brady on my fantasy team. It's like cheating on your team and what you hold dear. I remember doing the Peter Griffin looking in the mirror after drafting Brady, "you dirty whore" I said to myself as I cut my own hair and smeared lipstick on my beard. It was a season I would never forget because I won the league for the first time in a dozen years, but the trophy was tainted because it was Patriots-related. ill-gotten booty. My other friends who are Bills fans looked at me with disdain and pity when I took the championship. This year I'll pick up Gronk ONLY because he won't play the first game and we don't face them until the last game of the year and by then I'll be in last place anyway. Trust me boys, taking any Patriots is...well..... unpatriotic. Shameful. (Not unlike my F*ck Myra Kraft, I'm Glad She's Dead bumpersticker) Those were some dark days indeed......

By real coaching you mean guys that got out of the way and trusted their players. Levy had no idea what play was going to be called next on the field, and neither did anyone else but JK in the vast majority of situations. Sometimes Kent Hull even called the plays. Trusting your QB to call the plays he likes based on what he is feeling out there is a huge step for a coaching staff. Most coaches ego's are too big in this league today to allow for more than an audible now and then. I think Peyton is the only QB that has the reigns off 100%

Irregardless contains a double negative - ”ir” and “less” – which renders its meaning hard to understand. Regardless (an adjective) means “without consideration.” For example: Regardless of the cost, we are going to the stadium to watch the Bills slay the Patriots on opening day. Word nerd out.....

Im with JR. The guy made the pro bowl as a kick returner, had a solid career as a corner with some big plays for us. I just read he was only one of 13 players in NFL history to have 5 or more kickoff returns for TD's. 2005 Christmas eve against Cinci he took one 99 yards to the house and another pick 46 yards for a TD. Never been done before or since in the NFL. Not bad for a 4th round pick.

I think Searcy is a good player, has some real NFL game experience at SS and has shown some good awareness out there. They are both explosive hitters. The upside to Byrd sitting out is that Aaron is getting excellent experience back there, and it will help him a lot in this interchangeable defense. The guy will have experience at corner, FS and SS when the real bullets fly. Not many NFL players--if any--can make that claim.

I did too. He had some dominant games but his body is shot. shoulder and knees if i remember. hate to say it but i think Troupe is headed down that same road.

Actually we were pretty solid against the pass last year, tied for 9th in passing allowed, Granted, Byrd is out, but Gilmore, Kyle and Mario are all studs. I predict those four will all make the pro bowl this year, and Alonzo getting a legit shot at defensive rookie of the year. For you to say we don't have starting NFL competition on our D roster is ridiculous.

I want Olive Oyl's jersey now..... What was her number again?

Yes that was frustrating as hell last year. Watching Ruvell and Brad Smith at WR when there is no shot for playoffs left, and Easley who desperately needs game experience just sitting on the sidelines. If I am the GM or owner I fix that shortsighted bull **** in two seconds.

Okay fine people of Two Bills Drive, I decided this year I'm going to place a few bets on season wins/losses for the upcoming NFL season. I was reading Eball's post about Irsay and the Colts, and some folks were saying how the Colts are overrated and squeaked out a bunch of close games last year etc., and it got me to thinking that maybe I can get some good thoughts from the best football fans in the nation right here. I'm looking for hunches, thoughts, and gut feelings on which team you think Vegas has overestimated or underestimated. So the parentheses beside the Over and Under notates the price of the bet. For instance: the Pats over is +115, so you would take home $115 if you bet $100 and won. If you bet the under it would take $135 to win $100. If you had to pick ONE bet for all your money, which one do you like? note: I called up Hackett (stole his number from Astro's phone) and he says Take The Bills Baby ! I assume he meant the over....... ARIZONA CARDINALS Over 5.5 (+130) Under 5.5 (-150) ATLANTA FALCONS Over 10 (+110) Under 10 (-130) BALTIMORE RAVENS Over 8.5 (-140) Under 8.5 (+120) BUFFALO BILLS Over 6.5 (+115) Under 6.5 (-135) CAROLINA PANTHERS Over 7 (-110) Under 7 (-110) CHICAGO BEARS Over 8.5 (-120) Under 8.5 (even) CINCINNATI BENGALS Over 8.5 (+110) Under 8.5 (-130) CLEVELAND BROWNS Over 6 (-130) Under 6 (+110) DALLAS COWBOYS Over 8.5 (+135) Under 8.5 (-155) DENVER BRONCOS Over 11.5 (+110) Under 11.5 (-130) DETROIT LIONS Over 7.5 (-110) Under 7.5 (-110) GREEN BAY PACKERS Over 10 (-110) Under 10 (-110) HOUSTON TEXANS Over 10 (-130) Under 10 (+110) INDIANAPOLIS COLTS Over 8.5 (even) Under 8.5 (-120) JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS Over 5 (-130) Under 5 (+110) KANSAS CITY CHIEFS Over 7 (-145) Under 7 (+125) MIAMI DOLPHINS Over 7.5 (-135) Under 7.5 (+115) MINNESOTA VIKINGS Over 7.5 (-110) Under 7.5 (-110) NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS Over 11.5 (+115) Under 11.5 (-135) NEW ORLEANS SAINTS Over 9 (-120) Under 9 (even) NEW YORK GIANTS Over 9 (even) Under 9 (-120) NEW YORK JETS Over 6.5 (-110) Under 6.5 (-110) OAKLAND RAIDERS Over 5.5 (+120) Under 5.5 (-140) PHILADELPHIA EAGLES Over 7 (-110) Under 7 (-110) PITTSBURGH STEELERS Over 9 (-120) Under 9 (even) SAN DIEGO CHARGERS Over 7.5 (+115) Under 7.5 (-135) SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS Over 11.5 (+105) Under 11.5 (-125) SEATTLE SEAHAWKS Over 10.5 (-110) Under 10.5 (-110) ST. LOUIS RAMS Over 7.5 (+120) Under 7.5 (-140) TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS Over 7.5 (-140) Under 7.5 (+120) TENNESSEE TITANS Over 6.5 (-110) Under 6.5 (-110) WASHINGTON REDSKINS Over 8 (-110) Under 8 (-110)

He's not just our best pass rusher, he's our ONLY pass rusher that has ever put up respectable numbers in the NFL.

Football in a dome is such a letdown after seeing it played outside where it was meant to be played. The lighting, the achoing noise off the roof, everything is just plain lame. My vote is KC, but cleveland is a cool city and a short drive down the road.

Should have kept Kellen Heard and dropped Troupe. The nose is ground zero for big collisions and back-breaking battles. The odds are that he won't hold up, and I think if he gets hurt again Whaley is going to release him. I don't blame him for working hard and being optimistic, the poor guy is trying to make a living but his body isn't cooperating.

Best gameday coach ever? "Ok defense, we arent very good but try to get a few stops cuz we have a HOF qb in his prime that scores a lot of points". Weiss, crennel, belichick, mddaniel and mangini, all failed NFL head coaches without Brady on their team.

Me too. Strong and fast, good YAC.

Nice job OP thats an interesting post. It supports my opinion on Byrd which is that he's mediocre. INT's are like sacks, half the story at best. You need to look at the details of the stats like you laid them out (apparently the facts are very disturbing to a lot of posters here). What was the game situation, the circumstances surrounding the big plays, and did the player do something special in clutch time or did they just cherry pick a garbage time hail mary that really should have been knocked down instead of caught? And we all know how pro bowl votes go, just ask Ruben Brown. He admitted it was an honor but still an NFL popularity contest and not indicative of how he played that season. I'm glad we tagged him and refused the long term deal. The dude is going to make over $300k per game this season, I think he'll be OK.

I watched a lengthy interview last year with Rex and he came across as a very down to earth, likable, charismatic guy. I'm sure that growing up with Buddy Ryan as your father wasn't all peaches and cream, and being in the spotlight in the NYC Jersey scene has to be downright awful, but he still keeps his head up and doesn't take himself too seriously. He loves the players on his team and he has great relationships with his guys. He talked for a long time about team chemistry and the importance of character and the standards he has for his guys that he lays out for them when they become Jets. I agree with Dave's take, that compared to the zero-personality Jaurons and Belichicks of the world, Rex is entertaining and the league is better with him in it. I still hate him on Sundays though, and love beating those punks..........

I totally agree. There are some posts on here that are glorifying Byrd like he is more than a pretty good FS. I have watched every snap that dude has ever played, and he's nowhere near an elite free safety. That crap that Joe Buscalia was printing about WPA averages had Byrd 3 times higher than Polamalu. Its laughable. I say just pay him the one year deal and see how he does in this defense. See if he's worth the money first, don't guess that he is. If he goes I think Aaron Williams will step in and kick ass. As to the original OP's question, I would take Mario Williams for sure. He might be inconsistent but he's disruptive and intimidating out there. I like that.

Good points except assuming Troupe will play if healthy. He still has to be effective in camp and preseason or he is gone. Still wish we had kept Kellen Heard instead of Troupe, he would have fit perfectly in this D and the kid could play.