Estro

.......but......but......but our QB is big and tall and a good leader, and he wants to be great. DEPRESSED

I saw Teddy Bridgewater make 5-6 plays today in his very first game, that I have yet to see from EJ in all of his games. I'm talking about pocket presence, accuracy, arm strength, anticipation, confidence. And after his win today, not even a smile, very busienss like, like he belongs in this league and know that hard work that awaits. I remember EJ winning his first game, it was prayers and jubilation like we had won the Super Bowl. I'm now left scratching my head, how the Bills talent evaluators thought this guy could get us to the playoffs....... Or how they thought it was a good idea to trade two #1's for a WR whose success is entirely predicated on a QB who can't deliver the football. Marrone should indeed turn to Orton now, if he doesn't he will look back on his time and Buffalo and regret sticking with a bum QB for as long as he did. And for the record I don't think Orton is the answer, but I'm not the GM who assembled this roster. This is the bed that the Buffalo Bills organization has made and now they must lay in it. Anybody who has 2 eyes can see this QB does not belong in the NFL, it's time for the guys who get paid millions to evaluate to admit the mistake they made in EJ and move on. The sooner the better, because there's no upside to the kid nor any redeeming qualities to build on. Today, is the first day that I'm feeling like an entire house cleaning might be for the best come January. And I'm talking everybody including the Russ Brandon's and Scott Berchtold's of the world.

Gets beat often. Poor ball skills. Will never be a high int. guy as he has bad hands and doesnt find the ball. He was a plus in run defense, but this season he's been a minus there too.

Pretty impressive player. Interesting to see what's happening behind enemy lines: http://www.chargers....47-8d90125ddf2d

Also visited the new Bills Store today. As a business owner, cursed with always evaluating other businesses, I was highly unimpressed by the production put on over at 1 Bills Drive. First, I looked up the Bills store hours online. Couldn't find the Saturday hours listed anywhere, so I called twice. No answer both times. Decided to drive over around 6PM, figuring they had to be open the night before the home opener, they were, good news! Overall the curb appeal is nice, and also very nice on the inside. The problems: Had to take a piss, no bathrooms in the store. A large mens room adjacent to the store was locked. I was told I had to use the port a john across the street or walk 5 minutes down the street to the Tim Hortons!? Kind of bizarre. No dressing room, is an embarrassing oversight. Out of stock on many items and limited sizes for a lot of inventory is a real bad look the night before the home opener. I saw a lot of money walk out the front door due to lack of product and lack of sizing. Maybe a $1.4 billion company doesn't get too beat up watching thousand of dollars walk out the front door, but it hurt me to watch it happen. I was shopping for a specific hat and t-shirt I saw on the Bills website. Found the hat, didn't find the shirt. They certainly have floor space and wall space for much more inventory, so hopefully they can work the kinks out and get more product on the floor. Also, I'd suggest opening the public bathrooms adjacent to the store. Personally, I had no problem crossing the street and pissing in the port a john, but I just thought it was a bad look for the Bills to be directing paying customers who need to relieve themselves to port a johns or the tim hortons bathroom down the street.

In his final mock draft that year I'm pretty certain he had the Bills trading back with the Rams and selecting EJ Manuel, which is exactly what happened on draft day. He also tipped off the fact that the Bills were really high on Gilmore the year before. I think Joe's been a great resource, especially when it comes to the draft.

A lot of good points brought up in this thread: I have never been a big fan of Gilmore's. I think at this stage in his career he is very, very average. He gets caught peeking into the backfield way too often and is susceptible to double moves. On top of that he's a defensive holding penalty waiting to happen, and now that the refs are calling that like mad it's bad for Gilmore. For all the hype he always seems to get I'm totally underwhelmed with him. In addition, he has really bad hands, so I don't see him getting more than 1-2 picks a year. Last year he dropped 2 or 3 easy ones.

Not for nothing, but there is no way Goodwin is 195lbs. Maybe 185 soaking wet, but he's a small dude. Showed promise last year.....but also showed a knack for getting a lot of nagging minor injuries. I'm skeptical if he has the build to stay healthy throughout a long NFL season.

Aren't there stipulations against owning both an NHL and NFL team, similar to the problem the Jacobs family might have faced if they wanted the Bills? Not that there aren't ways to get around it, but I thought there were hoops you had to jump through.

It's a question I've had for a while, but even more so now that the dust of this offseason is starting to settle. If the Bills brass thinks they're ready to win now, which they've repeatedly said they are, than why let Byrd walk. Why not retain his rights for 1 more year for $8.29 million? It just doesn't make sense given the attitude that this is a year we can push for the playoffs. I don't happen to agree with that sentiment, but if the Bills brass does......they should've 100% tagged Byrd. There's a huge void at safety right now, IMO.

Any guesses on what RB they were looking to trade up for???? My best guess would be Carlos Hyde.....who ended up coming off the board just a few picks after Sankey was selected. Only 3 RB's were taken after Sankey went. They were Jeremy Hill, Carlos Hyde and Charles Sims. I don't think the target was Hill because he went the very next pick which would've given the bills little to no time to work the phones, which the video insinuated they did. I also don't think it was Sims because he went just a few picks before the Bills 3rd round pick, so if he was their guy they would've certainly had the time and ammo to go up and get him. Seems Hyde was the guy based on that. Would've loved to have had him too, he was my favorite back in the draft

I like Sammy Watkins, but not nearly enough to part with a 2nd round pick to move up and get him. I actually think he's a bit overrated at this point. Don't get me wrong I like his ability, but the way everyone seems to think he will be a can't miss superstar is misguided. Like others have said, the numbers show that WR's his size drafted real high usually don't live up to expectations. One other player I'm not a huge fan of, that seems to be regarded highly is Taylor Lewan. He seems a little slow/sluggish in pass pro. Very tall OT's also have always worried me because they have a very high center of gravity, which means they can get off balance easily. At 6'7" and 307 lbs. he's very tall, but doesn't have much girth, especially in his lower body. I won't pretend to know if he's a guy who can add weight, but with where his weight is now, I could see pro DE's making Lewan look bad on Sunday's.

I like the way the Bucs are going about this. Spent a mid rounder on a guy, he wasn't great, wasn't bad, but at QB they want to be great so they're not gong to wait on Glennon. They'll continue to seek a great QB, because you're going no where without one. I wish the Bills showed the same urgency at the QB position. And I will add I think Glennon showed more promise than EJ. Bucs looking to upgrade the position, Bills dead set on not drafting a QB high. Much prefer the Bucs philosophy.

I strongly disagree that there's nothing wrong with this "insignificant" lawsuit. I think it's disturbing. As far as your smart a$$ compliment, gracias.

That's not how it works. There will be a set amount each claim will be reimbursed. Let's just say there were 50k people receiving the texts. That means each person will be entitled to $50. If less than 50 k apply for the credit they will still get the same $50 and the Bills will save the money. If only 1000 people claimed the credit they wouldn't each get $2500, that's not how the system works as far as I know.

This lawsuit is exactly what's wrong with America. Everyone looking to sue the other, raises all of our insurances and prices we pay for everything. It's a joke. As others have pointed out, the settlement is a bit of a joke. Retail markup is traditionally 250%, meaning something that cost the Bills $40 sells to the public at $100. So that $2.5 million will cost the Bills $1 million. Factor in not everyone will redeem the full value, and other may actually spend a bit out of pocket to cover any additional expense. All in all it's not too big of a deal to the Bills, but still I despise these type of lawsuits. And I will back up my position by not taking any of the money offered, as I was one who received those texts. By accepting the money, I'd be a hypocrite.

I would be surprised if we don't get the Thanksgiving day game vs. the Lions. It's either us or the Dolphins. Jim Schwartz and Ralph Wilson both have Detroit ties, which seems like it might make it a sensible pick. I also read this year that NBC can flex the Cowboys or Lions game this year into the 8:30 time slot. Meaning it's probable the Bills would play the Lions in the early game, but it is possible it could be the 8:30 game if flexed to NBC that night. This would allow CBS to schedule in a sexier AFC vs. AFC game in the 1 PM time slot (and I'm sure it won't be hard to find a "sexier" matchup than Bills @ Lions). So, moral of the story: Don't be shocked if it's Bills @ Lions, primetime, 8:30PM. Would be a lotta fun!

Did anyone watch the presser posted on buffalobills.com today of Russ with the state and county executives? When the dude representing Erie county spoke up a couple of times Russ looked like he was ready to take his head off. His body language and Scotty Berchtold body language (in the background) looked like they didn't get along at all with this guy. Wondering if anybody else picked up on that?

The price to move up hasn't been very steep the last couple of drafts. In fact I think the cowboys gave up their first and second round pikis to move up to # 6 a couple years ago to get M. Claiborne. A move like that years ago would've surely cost much more. There's Jo way the Bills would part with a future #1 pick, but if this years round 1 & 2 gets you the highest rated player on your board who knows, maybe that's a deal you make.

I kind of like the idea, but more so as a developmental league rather than an expansion of the NFL. I think NFL Europe was a great idea because it was a place where the NFL could develop talent. Who knows if it weren't for NFL Europa the Bills might've never realized the potential Freddy /Jackson had. It could function kind of like minor league baseball or farm system. This idea would maybe even better served to keep inside the borders of the U.S. where there would probably be better fan support. 8 team farm system that plays 6 weeks of football starting sometime in the early spring, so the season is all wrapped up prior to the NFL training camp. That way players who really impress have a chance to make the jump to the "majors" in time for minicamps. I look at it more as an opportunity for teams to develop talent more so than soldout crowds and tons of fan interest, but given enough time I could see certain cities supporting these type of franchises.

Correct. The only other player that can be considered a FA loss would be Jim Leonard. So, at this point it is a guaranteed the Bills will have a net loss in FA. I like the players we signed in FA, but it does sting a bit knowing Byrd would've fetched us a 3rd round pick next year had we only signed 2 FA's. Despite some confusion by posters on this board, teams can NOT be awarded a compensatory pick if they have more FA's signed then lost. It doesn't matter how much better the players are that left.....if more enter the building then leave there is NO comp. picks. And if the FA's signed is the same number of FA's that leave the best pick you can get is a 7th rounder. Just wanted to clear that issue up as there seems to still be a sentiment that we could get something for Byrd. We can not.

Done.

I've watched some of Ebron, and I just don't think his overall skill set warrants the #9 overall pick. I think to be a TE picked in the top 10 of the NFL draft you need to be a beast: A physical specimen who wins in the passing game and scored TD's. Ebron somewhat fits the description but not entirely. I just think he's more of a middle of the first round value. Taylor Lewan is a bit of an enigma to me. At first I didn't like him at all. then he started growing on me, particularly his run blocking. And now, I've 180'd back to not being a big fan of his. At 6'8" - 310 lbs. I don't think he's got the ideal bulk to play RT. I'm also not sold at all on drafting a RT at #9, when we found out LT at pick #41 a few years back. I love Greg Robinson, he's an athletic specimen that can move and block. He'll be gone in the top 6. Jake Matthews intrigues me, as does Mike Evans. They're players that seem to fit our needs and the right value at #9. I think there is a better than 50/50 chance 1 of those 2 will be on the board when we pick (more likely Evans than Matthews), and I'm definitely warming to the idea of Mike Evans in Buffalo. Doug Whaley has been very forward with his thoughts on getting receivers that are big and open even when they are covered. The question, as the draft nears becomes: will the Bills value Mike Evans enough to pull him off the board at #9.

I like Marcus Mariota in next years draft. I think he would've been the 1st QB taken in this years draft when it all shook out had he thrown his hat in the ring. I think next season will really solidify his stock as the probable #1 overall pick.

Anybody know how much money Fitz has made the past 3-4 seasons. He's gotta be up around $20 + million. Not bad for a Harvard grad! Let's not forget we play @ Houston this year. I think he'll be backing up Blake Bortles.