Matt in KC

So when do teams have to start reporting official injury status (out, doubtful, questionable etc.)? Next Sunday?

I just had a great idea! Can Byrd play CB?

Very disappointed in how Alonso looks so far.You're annoyed people aren't giving you a rational response to this? What are you disappointed in? I saw my first couple plays where he didn't look great, which is still very good and promising for a rookie. My disappointment with him comes from the hype I read here with some proclaiming that he had a good shot of being Defensive Rookie of the Year. I haven't seen anything anywere resembling that so far. Granted, he might end up good, but the hype made me expect more at this point. He hasn't jumped out as of yet. Maybe he will. No one knows. Maybe I overreacted to the hype by being disappointed. So forget the hype for a minute. He's a second round rookie being asked to captain the defense (radio). So far the's doing a very good job. DROY is crazy speculation before the season starts, though I'm much more forgiving of baseless optimism than pessimism. i don't remember a rookie LB ever catching on so fast for us. He looks like he's ahead of where poz ever was. It took Crowell what... 3-4 years to start looking like he could compete? -------- Wondering if Hughes will turn into Maybin 2.0 Why on earth would you think that he'd perform like Maybin or that it would be a Maybin-like situation if he flames out? I'm thrilled with him so far. What does he have, 1+ sacks pre game so far? My fear with Hughes is for a couple of reasons. 1. Another team gave up on him. 2. While he may be a good pass rushing specialist, in order to serve in that function you better not leave open spaces in the field when you fail. Players can't survive primarily as rushers unless they are elite at it. If they are not, they usually cause more problems then they help. One report on him stated that he was performing very poorly in other phases of the game. This description reminded me of Maybin, whose stench still remains in my nostrils. He could turn out to be good, but at this point I would bet against it. Certainly I could be wrong, just like anyone who thinks he will be a defensive force. He looks good to me, like a real disruptor on defense. We paid what for him? (A 3rd round draft pick who wasn't panning out.) --------- Wannstedt was not the problem. He played vanilla because vanilla looks like it may have been the best optiin. Huh? This is the first game they've played more like last year: CBs playing off and nothing too exotic, including disguising the D. That looks like the best option? I never believed Wannstedt was the problem last year. Yeah, I know a lot of you did. I think our personnel on D was grossly overrated last year and that there may not have been a worse group of linebackers in the league. Except for Gilmore, the corners were a disaster, and the defensive line was putrid. I do agree our LBs were just aweful. But, I blame the coaches more for sticking with players and schemes that just weren't working. That's how I personally decided they needed to go. ------------- How can a team go so many seasons without an excellent linebacker? I'm hopeful for Kiko, and Lawson, and have been happy with how Moats and Bradham are progressing. Downtin has caught my eye a few times late in games as a young guy adjusting to the NFL. They may work out but I am glad to see your acknowledgment of the insanely poor history of linebackers on this team. It's good that you are hopeful, but that is far from any verifiable proof. I think Moats has been near nothing except for his hit on Farvre. Bradham is fast but appears slow to react, in my opinion, and reaction time is far more important than speed. Kiko is unknown and I have no opinion of Lawson or Downtin as of yet. We'll have to see how it plays out. So far I've really liked how each of those guys as looked this year, minus a few ugly plays against the Redskins. --------- How many players would hurt this team if they got hurt? Spiller has a decent backup and RB is the most overrated position on the field.Having a great RB means nothing in the standings. I have no idea what you are saying. Losing eny players, especially starters would hurt. EJ, Gilmore, Spiller, Kyle, anyone on the o-line, Mario, or Stevie most of all, roughly in that order. What I am saying is that there is a lack of very important players on the team whose loss would devastate them, and not because of great depth, but rather because a lack of excellent players. I get what you're saying, but not sure what it means really. We have significant depth problems. We cannot survive a single loss on the o-line IMO. Also add Spiller to your list below Gilmore would hurt. Maybe a couple guys on the D line. SJ. EJ, even though we have no idea what he is. ------ All that said, they have an outside chance at .500 because the NFL is a game of attrition, so if you get luckier than the other guy with injuries you can still compete. So all this complaining and you think we could get to .500 with some injuries? That is optimistic! I stated clearly that they could end up .500 if they stay healthy and other teams don't. If that is optimnistic to you, I am confused about what you mean. We're not far off from each other. I think we're a 7 win team, +/- 2 games. No way can /i see us good/lucky enough to win 10 games, or bad/unlucky/injured enough to win 4 or less. I was surprised because you sounded pretty down on the team, but then mentioned .500, which to me is a big promising step forward. ---------------------- i think the Seriously response by yungmack was about right. If you're just trolling for a reaction, congrats, you got me. A pity that if someone questions the optimism based on nothing, that makes them a troll. Is someone a troll when they declare that there is a good chance that EJ and KIko will win the respective ROY awards as I saw posted on this site? Optimism based on nothing is normal and healthy, and pleasant, though yes, it can go too far. That said, you're obviously not a troll with these responses, not just saying things to "get my goat" and waste my time. ROY talk is similar in that it baits people into the conversation. If I felt compelled to shoot them down it would probably tick me off. I don't think there's an overly-positive version of term troll, but feel free to make one up. I think we're running out of colors. Thanks for the dialog.

I thought Glenn looked pretty good, but noticed some issues w Pears play for the first time this PS. I get the concern about Fred (though he doesn't look shot to me, just declining). What makes you say that about Kyle? I don't see it at all.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/08/25/lions-send-thad-lewis-to-the-bills/

1) Even so, I don't get it. I think it's a scheme I just don't understand. I couldn't see where the safeties were playing , but they seemed to be giving cushion just on one side. I just don't get giving so much cushion.... 2) i agree it may be the first part (they know what they have in Zach Brown), but i don't think he's hurt, unless it just was not reported or picked up by anyone. 3) So is the correct call illegal contact if the ball in uncatchable? I get the 5 yard penalty, but the automatic 1st down has always seemed like a crock to me....

I think Butler has looked good at times too, and wouldn't be surprised to see him get J. Rogers' roster spot. I don't think he's looked nearly good as Brooks though, who is still getting much better, essentially going into his rookie year.

Anyone have any insight or guesses on the below? Beyond general emotional doom-and-gloom or defense of the team, did you see anything else you questioned? 1. Why were the CBs playing so far off? This is the first time I've seen that this season. For most of the game, the CB on one side would start 7-8 yard off, even if only 3-4 yards were needed for the first down. 2. Why did Zack Brown get so few carries? 3. Why was the first play of the game pass interference when the ball was so far out of bounds? It was clearly uncatchable. 4. Where have the tight ends gone? What the Syracuse TEs do? 5. Observation: they had Dareus and Kyle rotating in and out through the first two quarters. Is that what you expect in the regular season? (I do.) What will we do against the Pats?

I was optimistic after reading some of the hype put out by the Bills and by those who watched them at camp. That all evaporated.Congrats. Do you think the first 2 preseason games were... luck? Hated the drafting of Graham. Hate it more, now. Why? Because of his first game back where he played a quarter? In my opinion, if they are going to rely on speed for play design, they need at least 2 players who can fill the roll in case on gets hurt. That would be TJ and Goodwin. Very disappointed in how Alonso looks so far. You're annoyed people aren't giving you a rational response to this? What are you disappointed in? I saw my first couple plays where he didn't look great, which is still very good and promising for a rookie. Wondering if Hughes will turn into Maybin 2.0 Why on earth would you think that he'd perform like Maybin or that it would be a Maybin-like situation if he flames out? I'm thrilled with him so far. What does he have, 1+ sacks pre game so far? Wannstedt was not the problem. He played vanilla because vanilla looks like it may have been the best optiin. Huh? This is the first game they've played more like last year: CBs playing off and nothing too exotic, including disguising the D. That looks like the best option? How can a team go so many seasons without an excellent linebacker? I'm hopeful for Kiko, and Lawson, and have been happy with how Moats and Bradham are progressing. Downtin has caught my eye a few times late in games as a young guy adjusting to the NFL. How many players would hurt this team if they got hurt? Spiller has a decent backup and RB is the most overrated position on the field.Having a great RB means nothing in the standings. I have no idea what you are saying. Losing eny players, especially starters would hurt. EJ, Gilmore, Spiller, Kyle, anyone on the o-line, Mario, or Stevie most of all, roughly in that order. Gilmore would hurt. Maybe a couple guys on the D line. SJ. EJ, even though we have no idea what he is. All that said, they have an outside chance at .500 because the NFL is a game of attrition, so if you get luckier than the other guy with injuries you can still compete. So all this complaining and you think we could get to .500 with some injuries? That is optimistic! i think the Seriously response by yungmack was about right. If you're just trolling for a reaction, congrats, you got me.

I agree with you, BF3434. I think many Bills fans have PTSD though, and will need awhile to calm down. The CBs playing way off must have been by design - - it was a big change from what we've seen recently. Couple that with a lack of blitzing and players returning to their first game and some bad bounces, and we looked pretty bad.

All because they lost a pre-season game without their starting QB/s to a good team? Or maybe we should call it losing a pre-season game to a good team. Yes, they looked bad. They also looked very good recently. It sounds like they are performing in PS like almost every other team in the league.

I couldn't agree more. Enough so that I added this to my sig.

And let ,me clarify: I'd be fine for Thursday if our plan was to have Tuel play the full game and Brad Smith come in and hand off if he gets hurt, SO LONG as the team is pretty sure we'll have 2 active QBs week 1 against the Pats.

I might be okay with this if there was any indication at all Brad could throw the ball at an NFL level, or if he had taken any snaps at QB this year.

Tuel is kind of winning. . . the war of attrition.

C'mon, DBs don't need wrists! Just tape it up. He'll be fine; he can club down the ball if he has to!

Is JP Losman a free agent? **ducks and runs**

I wanted to see some adversity to see how the players, especially the rookies, would react. It's also interesting to see which TBD posters freak out!

No way can he be a roster exemption and active at the same time!

Dareus has looked a bit slow to me, but like he's speeding up. I hope to see him really hustling today. Branch has looked old and slow to me; still big and strong, but slow. He really looks out of place in this fast aggressive defense.

Are you just thinking out loud?

yeah, looks like we started them the same minute... I'm interested to keep watching Colin Brown. I've been very impressed and think he's way way ahead of Legurski and any backups at LG.

Have we had more than one holding penalty? False starts drive me nuts. Those, time outs, and play & game clock management are my biggest red flags for poor coaching....

Oh yeah, oh yeah... well I get my beer boiling with a blowtorch then pick up the can with thick rubber gloves. I let it cool off a bit before drinking so I don't burn my lips and it's more refreshing. . . . (Holy cow, tell me you guys are kidding. I thought my inlaws were odd for chilling red wine....)

What are you interested to see on the Redskins game? What do you expect? I'll get it started... Interested to see 1. The WR race. Specifically 1) TJ Graham's return 2a) does Easley get any snaps with the varsity team 2b) and does he continue to look good 3) Is Brad Smith ready to fade away, or is he fighting for his job? 4) Are Goodwin and Woods the only WRs blocking so aggressively, or have they all been coached up? 2. DBs Who besides Gilmore looks good? 3. Adversity I would actually like to see a couple bad breaks forthe team at the start of the game, and see how they react. I'd like to know how the team responds as an important aspect of team chemistry. 4. Are the following players continuing to look better? All have started slowly, but started coming on in the Vikings game: Kolb, Dareus, Fred Jackson Expect to see 5. The Bills more aggressive than the Redskins - - more of the same. 6. Somewhere around 8-10 penalties - - and I don't mind. If the calls are either borderline or due to aggressiveness and they don't kill a drive for us.