1billsfan

I think that eventually, someone on the inside is going to write a "tell all" book on how far and wide the Pats cheating went and it will have as chilling an effect on the NFL as Jose Canseco's "tell all" book did to MLB. I don't see how Kraft could remain the owner once everything eventually gets out there.

The learning curve for QBs coming out of college and into the NFL is probably bigger than any position in sports. Now given that, lets look at former first round pick LB Jerry Hughes. He had one of the easier positions in the NFL to transition to yet took four whole years to prove he wasn't a bust. Most of the time the light never comes on, but that doesn't mean you truncate the natural learning curve. Especially given that the Bills complete screwed up by hiring Syracuse's head coach and thinking he could competently develop an NFL QB which was what they were planning to do in that year's draft. That's not meant as an excuse for Manuel, it's just the fact that Marrone was totally clueless with regards to running an NFL offense. He benched Manuel and still the Bills remained ranked at the bottom in red zone offense with Kyle Orton. It's been a great offseason for the Bills, but the one thing that hasn't been so great is the never ending debate on the issue of EJ Manuel. Thankfully, training camp is a few short months away now. I'm excited to finally get to see what Manuel either does or doesn't do in Roman's offense. If he can't get it done then so be it, but I still have some optimism regarding Manuel becoming our franchise QB. The other exciting factor is the possibility of Taylor dominating camp and becoming our franchise QB, I'm excited about that too. When you look at how things have broke big for the Bills this offseason (the list is very long), it makes me wonder if the QB position is also going to finally become settled for the long term after years and years of waiting. It's as if the Bills have hit their lucky streak that will propel them for years of success.

I don't agree with that comparison. I think that Tom Brady being able to deflate the balls below the legal level was like giving a corked bat to Babe Ruth and letting the half his team use it (RBs ridiculously low fumble rate).

I think it’s a poor comparison, but the level of impact is right up there. Kraft and the Patriots have cheated and got away with it for so long they actually feel entitled to the rules not applying to them. They’re actually mad that they're getting punished after getting caught again. How successful would the NFL be 5 years from now if fans truly started to think that the game is fixed for the star QB teams to win? Helping them out big time by turning away from their cheating and also with favorable calls? The NFL would not be the multi billion dollar insanely successful business without credibility. The fact that NFL owner Robert Kraft thinks he can insult America’s intelligence like this and get away with it is simply astounding in it’s arrogance. The younger generations will find other things to do and watch than a fixed NFL league. They have X Games, MMA fighting, NBA, video games, on demand mobile device entertainment and on and on and on… Robert Kraft is also sick in the head (in a much different way), given that he’s now insulting the entire nation he really should be shown the door by the other NFL owners. Either that or a very public and heartfelt apology is in order. I'm pretty shocked at what the Patriots are doing.

Of the two wins against winning teams in 2014 (Detroit and Green Bay), the Buffalo Bills Marrone led offense scored a grand total of 1 TD and 7 FGs with the long time veteran QB Kyle Orton at the helm. Marrone was a bumbling idiot. His good fortune was having one of the best defenses in the NFL and he was hoping to parlay that defense into his dream job of coaching the Jets. He was nothing more than a poser. It's sad that he still has some Bills fans bamboozled.

Really? Did you know... Chan Gailey's red zone offense ranking...20th (2010), 11th (2011), 23rd (2012) Doug Marrone's red zone offense ranking...29th (2013), 30th (2014) Those numbers don't lie. Your football intelligence is in serious question if your opinion is that you think the Bills had the best coaching staff the last two years since Levy. The one and only reason the Bills have improved over the last two years was because of the incredible talent on defense, that's it. Doug Marrone was the worst head coach this franchise has had since Hank. He was a complete poser who was clearly trying to ride the coattails of an elite defense to try and snag his dream job coaching the Jets. Doug knew that he was in over his head and he coached scared. He coached like a man who was trying not to get exposed as the fraud he was. Just hearing the name Doug Marrone is repulsive to me as a fan of NFL football. I will never have respect for a man who coaches scared. Just look where he is now. Do you think that if Marrone was truly the best head coach the Bills have had since Levy that the only job he'd be able to get is the offensive line coach for the Jaguars? That's foolish. You love to bust EJ's balls as if you know what your talking about, and then think you can get away with comments like these and still have people respect your opinion? I don't pretend know who the starting Bills QB is going to be this year because the QB competition is going to be a real one. However, I don't think you know much about football if you were being serious with that comment.

Jimmy Garappolo's four game starts are going to give Patriot fans a window to the very real and very sad world without Tom Brady as their QB. I love comments like these. It will be so funny to bring them up when Garappolo throws a pick six and gets embarrassed by the Bills at RWS while EJ is tearing the Pats defense up with his new weapons and professional coaching.

Brady bold-faced lied and the Patriots have given the league yet another black eye in terms of the credibility of the game. One could view that the Patriots are lucky to even have Brady this year, because the evidence regarding fumble frequency seems to point that the deflation of footballs has been going on for years. People talk about the Colt game and what a blow out it was, but what about the Patriots beating the Ravens by a close 35-31 margin the week before? I'm kind of shocked that the league is actually doing something substantial. Makes me think that the league was afraid of being perceived as on-the-level as pro wrestling. I do think that the question remains with fans whether the league manufactures results when they can through their refs and scheduling. I'm disappointed that Brady won't be there for the Patriots/Bills game. I want the Bills to be the team to end the Patriots long dominance with Brady in the game. If the Bills win it won't be the same as beating them with Brady. If the Bills lose that game, wow...whoever's the Bills QB in that game probably won't see another start the rest of the season.

The Dolphins are kind of like the AFC's version of the Detroit Lions. Everybody predicts them to be good and do something, and every year they fall flat on their face. They will beat you badly if you don't take them seriously, but as soon as they're expected to prove the naysayers wrong in games that start to matter they collapse. I see the Bills as the AFCs version of the 2013 Seahawks and Niners, scary defense and just enough play makers to beat you almost every game. I think the Dolphins will finish about 8-8 and the Bills finish around 11-5. I know the Bills have proved nothing in a long time, but I really do think with all of these changes that the Bills will show that they're one of the best 10 teams in the NFL this year.

One aspect of the poor line play had to be the sheer predictability of Marrone's offense. I would watch other teams' offenses and the Bills looked like they were using high school plays and play calling in comparison. It was embarrassing. NFL defenses will make your line looks silly if they know what play is coming.

What is this magic pixy dust that Polian would have had? SPECIFICALLY which QB would Polian thought the Bills should have drafted and which round should they have drafted them in? ...or in his opinion, the "past 1st round selected" QBs Petty, Grayson, Hundley and Manion are ALL going to be great QBs and the Bills will be sorry by not drafting one of them? Also, I missed the NFL team that was willing to trade it's franchise QB this offseason. But I guess Polian's magic pixy dust would have made that happen. Bill Polian is no better than a snake oil salesman at this point, because he's making what he thinks are these huge monumental statements, yet they are truly empty and meaningless without specific names. Getting the QB position right in the NFL is part luck, part science, part coaching, part talent around the QB, part giving the QB time to adjust. The only guys who can brag about being smart are the guys who put names to predictions and second guessing. That's it. Polian is a blow hard for making those non specific comments on what the Bills should have done. But that's ESPN for you, a whole lot of nothing burger for the intelligent NFL fan. Doug Whaley is the man with the true NFL pixy dust now. If fans can't see that by now then I don't know what to tell them. My prediction is that either Manuel or Taylor will make Whaley look like a genius or the Bills will actually be in a great position to trade for Brees next year since he's a year older, has a gigantic QB contract and the Saints drafted his replacement in Garrett Grayson this past draft.

I said "probably", It wasn't a definitive statement. Again, this is an issue that McCoy has every right to talk about since Cooper's still there, but at some point people start tuning out if that's all you talk about.

I'm just tweaking the guy with respects to Cassel begin demoted because of the photo. I do however think there's the possibility that these very recent leaks from OBD of Taylor being the front runner might be to send the message (that they've known) that Cassel specifically isn't going to be the Bills starter. I simply don't believe Whaley or Rex that they didn't have a problem with the photo. These NFL people lie all the time. They are very competitive people and probably don't like it when their QB is in a photo looking like a fanboy of their long time AFC East "enemy". Sometimes you have to say the political thing in public.

He's embarrassing himself because he's gone over this ground a few times before. I think McCoy does have a point with regards to the three black stars jettisoned out and Cooper still there. Chip has a perception problem among black players on that team I would imagine. The reality is probably more along the lines that Chip doesn't like other people getting the attention and Riley Cooper would never overshadow him because he doesn't have that kind of talent. Just because someone insinuates racism doesn't mean that that's what it is. It might just mean that Chip wants to be the peacock and he's getting rid of all the other potential peacocks. He might be looking for a "no name" team where he gets all of the credit. I don't know for sure what the deal is, but that's what I imagine it is.

Don't get mad at me. Cassel's status as the presumptive "starter" has clearly slipped at OBD only days after that photo came out. Coincidence? Hmmmm, maybe not.

At first I suspected that all this Tyrod Taylor talk from Rex was "coach speak" to be used to light the biggest fire under EJ and see him at his very best this year, however seeing actual players saying stuff like this makes me wonder if Taylor IS seen as a QB who has a very real shot to not only win, but become a very good Bills starting QB. I'd have no problem with that outcome. Two things, I don't want Cassel to win the job and I hope they find their long term franchise QB with either Taylor or Manuel. I support Manuel's last chance, but I never gave Taylor a real shot before now. Very interesting.

What????? You've lost me with that reply. I'll agree to disagree on this topic and leave it at that. Let the best QB win and here's hoping that's either EJ or Tyrod because I want the problem solved for a few years and Cassel isn't a "long haul" QB.

I think that McCoy’s embarrassing himself, not the Bills. As for the charges, there’s the point of diminishing returns and I think he’s hit that point. The more he talks, the more people will think Chip was right to get rid of him.

I don't see how you could misconstrue what I said. Read it again because I was very specific in describing what's cool and not cool. BTW, it seems like there's been a whole lot of Tyrod Taylor chatter coming from OBD insiders since the Kentucky Derby...LOL

I think that Fred and Mario need to tell LeSean 2 things... ...#1 that he's officially crossed over into looking like a jilted lover who won't shut up about it, and... ...#2 they'll knock his block off if he thinks they're going to let him harpoon their first real shot at the playoffs by creating a distraction filled season talking about Chip. This team needs to get real with this guy and tell him enough is enough. LeSean may have a valid point, but it's become embarrassing. I'm starting to wish they didn't trade for him if he's going to be this much of a constant diva.

First of all there is no photo to go along with this story. Secondly, I wouldn't even have any problem with a picture of a one on one dinner situation with Brady and Cassel. Because they would look like equals. The problem with the derby picture is that it's that Cassel looks like a "hanger-on" and follower of the Tom Brady/Patriots Superbowl party fest. I honestly think that Cassel's seen by the organization as the emergency QB should EJ Manuel fail (they drafted 3 of Manuel's college team mates). If Manuel fails I think the Bills will be seriously going after a big fish next year like Eli Manning or Drew Brees. To me, Cassel is a one year only hired gun like Orton was.

Even if everything you say is true, but you can't escape that he optics are horrible. Matt Cassel looks like a follower and Tom looks like the leader in that picture. I'm telling you that I think Cassel has used up some cache with the fans and team mates. The NFL and MLB are two pro sports that I think there's a line you don't cross when you're considered the leader of a team. These aren't just a bunch of "no name" pro guys. I wouldn't expect to have ever seen a picture of Jeter arm in arm with a bunch of Red Sox champion friends. I think that you have to have a sense of what's expected of you when you either are or want to be the leader of a major league sports team.

Human’s don’t work that way. Every member of the Bills team now has the image of Cassel arm in arm with their enemies (I use the term enemies in the sports sense, not literally). If nothing else, Cassel has given himself a shorter leash with the Bills players and fans. In a perfect world Cassel should be able to go on a trip with friends with no repercussions, but having the visual of a photo of Cassel arm in arm with the world champ Patriots with Tommy boy in the middle looking like he’s “the king of the world” hurts him at the very least, a little bit. You and Bills officials like Doug Whaley can downplay it all you want, but IMO Cassel screwed up going on that trip. I’m almost 100% positive he’s lost some respect among the players on the Bills team. I’m sure that Rex wasn’t too happy about it either. Yes, they will laugh it off when asked about it but that’s because they want the public to think they don’t care.

You don't have to tell me, here at TSW stats don't mean anything if they are EJ Manuel stats. It doesn't matter if it's college or pro stats because he simply doesn't pass the "eye test" which is apparently more reliable than stats.

What if Cassel throws 4 interceptions vs the Patriots week 2 just like he did in his last start for the Vikings? You think that this photo won't be brought up?...LOL I'll tell you this, if Matt Cassel does win the job and sucks vs the Pats this Patriots party photo will grease the skids for EJ Manuel to become the starter real quick because I'm sure that there are many Bills players on the team that didn't like that he was so publicly chummy with his Superbowl champion Patriots buddies instead of getting to know his new Buffalo team mates. Also, the fans will think that Cassel either purposely or subconsciously threw the game and won't trust him anymore as the starting QB. He certainly doesn't look like a leader for the Bills by going on this trip. In fact, he looks more like a follower in the cult of Tom Brady in that photo. You can laugh at my take all you want, but if Cassel sucks vs the Pats you can stick a fork in him because he's done in Buffalo. As for your prediction, it might be on shaky ground because it appears the coaches think EJ Manuel will win the starting job given how many Florida State players they just drafted.