coseybedaman

The games are far from meaningless. Many player's lives/careers depend on these games. Coaches, players, front office staffs all need these games to build continuity. As a fan of course they are tough sit through because we are anxious for the real thing. However, football is the ultimate team game and so much of the quality product we see in the beginning of the regular season is built from the training camp/preseason timeframe.

I have not given up on EJ. I truly think the guy can still pan out if he still has the confidence in himself. The EJ we saw on the field was at least 50% due to the Marrone/Hackett era. The way they used EJ is NOT what Doug Whaley had in mind when they drafted him. Whaley has a TON of research into this guy (way more then any of us on a message board or behind a TV), and he is one of the best young minds in football. I refuse to realize that he could have whiffed that badly on the most important position on the field.

I think there is still a small chance that EJ can play. He was never going to be good with Hackett & Marrone just like Kyle Orton wasnt. I am just worried his confidence is too far gone. I trust Doug Whaley and he saw EJ as a guy he "had to have" so it will be interesting to see if he has given up on him yet. I think a Bradford or Foles trade would have indicated we gave up on EJ. I am not so sure Matt Cassel indicates that.

Anyone who thinks RG3 would be a BAD thing in Buffalo is just plain ignorant. Out of every free agent, almost every traded QB over the past few years, and everyone on our roster, RG3 is the only guy who has shown significant ability at the NFL level. I am not saying he is a slam dunk, but there was a reason this guy was a pro bowler, 2nd overall pick, rookie of the year, and a playoff QB. We dont have anyone even close to that pedigree. Not to mention the guy has a reasonable rookie contract for next season as well. Its a joke to say RG3 couldnt be a huge upgrade for this team. P.S. not to mention this guy was always a high character player before the Redskins stuck him out on the field with a horrible injury only to watch it get worse. Now they are going to dump him? NFL loyalty for you. Trust me I am NO FAN of this guy, but comparing him to what we have or the Josh McCowns of the world is laughable.

This is not even up for debate. As a life long Bills fan we, have suffered through nearly two decades of losing. The one thing we have always been able to fall back on was having one of the classiest organizations in the league. Kiss that goodbye if Fred Jackson leaves this team. He better be in a walker before this team thinks about releasing him. Fred retires as a Bill or I lose a LOT of respect for this organization, as well as fans begin turning on the new regime before the games even start.

Well Rex has never had any great running backs so maybe he should change his ways. CJ is the perfect compliment to the other backs. When the offense wasn't so predictable he showed us flashes of greatness. You must have a speed RB in the NFL. Someone to keep a defense off balance. In fact that is what the Jets thought they were getting in Chris Johnson. Spiller would be exactly the type of player Rex was hoping to get in Johnson (and FAR better). Boobie and Bryce are your answer at running back? Dixon is a solid short yardage guy, but way too slow to be anything more. Great leader and special teamer. Bryce Brown couldnt get on the field long enough without fumbling to show us anything. For once I would like to not take a step back when we are close to something good.

Its not a coincidence that every player on the line was just awful last season. I am sorry but I do not think you incorrectly evaluate 5 players on an offensive line (plus the backups). The coaching, quarterback, and offensive scheme was a HUGE part of the offensive line failure. By normal standards Eric Wood and Cordy Glenn did not even play that well. Those two guys have already proven to be very solid players in the NFL. The line will be absolutely just fine next year. That is truly the least of my worries. Predictable play calling, over conservative offense with no shots down field, and absolutely horrendous quarterback play will contribute to poor offensive line play EVERY SINGLE TIME!

Yes he should be in that 7m a year range. These people talking about Hughes getting 12 million a year are ridiculous. Mario gets about 15-16 and they arent even in the same league of player. I like Hughes and hope he gets what he deserves to set his family for life, but as a Bills fan there are 10 free agents DE every season that would make the same impact of Hughes with the big 3 next to them. P.S. Not sure Atlanta is going to shell out for another system pass rusher like they did with Osi Umenyiora. Everson Griffen is finally hitting his stride and is in the prime of his career. Hughes already had 3 years in Indy to prove he was an elite pass rusher. That is what they drafted the guy for in the 1st round. He was a complete bust. Lets not forget this. The Buffalo Dline saved this guy's career. The NFL is a meat market and Jerry should get every dime he can, but the Bills will move on much easier than people think if he walks. Hughes on the other hand will end up making much more money in the long term if he stays with the Bills and keeps having double digit sack years. He will NOT have those in many other places.

I would venture to say that NFL teams are not stupid. They know that Jerry Hughes is not a dominant defensive end in the NFL, and would be out of a job by now if he didnt join the Bills dominant D-line a couple years back. I dont blame him for looking to capitalize off the numbers he has put up with the Bills, but all 32 teams know that Hughes is a "good" player who puts up great numbers due to the pro bowl cast he plays with.

I hope Jerry doesnt think he is worth Tamba Hali numbers. The bottom line is that we can spend a 2nd round pick on a solid DE in the draft and put him next to the big 3 and he would do just as well. Hughes is looking to cash in because he knows he will not produce like he is in Buffalo anywhere else (ie. Indianapolis the first three years of his career)

I know what you are trying to say or be optimistic about, but the whole EJ/Cam comparison basically derives from both being African American quarterbacks. Thats about where the comparisons end. EJ has does nothing to show he can ever be a poor man's Cam Newton, and the sad part is that Cam has not even shown that he can be an elite QB yet (even with far more physical talent than EJ). So we are unfortunately way off here.

Everyone can argue whether EJ has it or not until they are blue in the face. The bottom line is that he was never given a fair chance to improve. He had an injury plagued rookie season, and got yanked for Kyle Orton in week 5. Can we honestly say that Orton gave us anything that EJ could not have? Judging from what I saw out of Kyle Orton I absolutely must believe that the coaching staff prefers to play a very safe and conservative offense. Its not like the offense was opened up at all once Orton came in the game. BELIEVE ME I AM NOT AN EJ SUPPORTER AT ALL! However, there is no chance that we have seen this guy's full potential. Whether it is in Buffalo or elsewhere. The most selfish, stubborn, and idiotic move of the season was not starting him in week 17 and then having Kyle Orton basically laugh at you on his way out the door that night. I would have loved to see EJ go balls to the wall in week 17 with no care in the world and no handcuffs from Hackett/Marrone. Instead we ran clock for two quarters of a meaningless game vs Patriots backups. Game did nothing for anyone. The offensive line is not as bad as it would seem. Henderson, Glenn, and Wood are all solid pieces to build on. The problem is the predictable play calling, and lack of quarterback play that caused the oline to look so bad this year. Fred and CJ's injuries also took a toll on the running game. The oline gets way too much blame for this team. Orton was a 32 year old quarterback that looked like he was 52. Slowest QB since Bledsoe. Always held the ball too long, and only threw the ball in obvious passing situations where the defense could pin their ears back. Bring in Marc Trestman or some kind of real offensive mind and you watch how all of a sudden this becomes a "competent oline"

First of all the team EJ had around him at FSU was horrific. It was Bobby Bowden's recruiting 20 years past his prime. Jimbo Fisher is responsible for the team's turnaround. Secondly, the school has nothing to do with succeeding in the NFL. We have seen Tom Brady come off a bench in Michigan to be a HOFer, we have seen a kid transfer from NC STATE to Wisconsin and get picked in the 3rd round only to be Super Bowl MVP in his second season. Football is the ultimate team game. Outside of 3 or 4 QBs in the NFL there would not be ANY success without the right system, coaches, oline, receivers, etc etc. This is why a guy like Eli Manning can be a 2 time Super bowl MVP, and then lead the league in interceptions in other seasons. Its not always about the QB. Unless you have the elite of the elite you need all the pieces around them to line up. P.S. BRAD JOHNSON IS THE MOST ACCOMPLISHED FSU QUARTERBACK IN NFL HISTORY P.P.S. CASEY WELDON DIDNT WIN A HEISMAN

There is a TON of guys (this year more than ever) that are looking for starting jobs without ever being given a real chance. If we were ever going to get a young FA quarterback this would be the year. Id hate to start over with another rookie quarterback because this defense is just going to get older and older while we are trying to find a new guy every 2 years. Unfortunately, I dont think any QB has a chance to succeed until this offense is opened up a little bit. Way too predictable, and way too conservative.

Sanchez? Is this a real post LOL? While I definitely think he never was given a chance to succeed in NY I will also say it is definitely too late now. There is soooooo many better directions to go then Mark Sanchez. I would literally rather have any of these guys starting for the Bills in 2015 over Mark Sanchez. Not that all of these are superstar options, but to be fair we just need to get DECENT play out of the QB position to be an 11 win team with our current roster. (no particular order) Nick Foles Jake Locker RG3 Mike Glennon Geno Smith Brian Hoyer Austin Davis Sam Bradford Jay Cutler

We are somewhat winning despite Hackett. He is CERTAINLY not helping us win. With our defense, and the opposition we have played we should be 7-2 right now and we are very lucky to not be 4-5. I know your record is what your record is, but it just doesnt look as ugly yet because we havent played our December schedule yet. We will be looking at our usual 6-8 wins. The difference is that this team finally has the talent to win 11 or 12.

As a Bills fan that now lives in Tampa I must laugh every time I hear someone say that Gruden won the Super Bowl with "Dungy's team". Just a heads up that Dungy never got that team to even win an NFC title let alone a Super Bowl ring. Nor was he ever going to. To drive home my point Gruden brought in 11 of the starters who were on the Super Bowl team (50% of the starters). Including the Quarterback, starting wideouts, starting running back (and guy who shouldve won SB MVP), and many of the defenders even. The only reason Dungy got his ring ring was because of Peyton Manning. Gruden is a FARRRRR superior coach to Tony Dungy and it would be one of the greatest days in Bills history if he came here. He does not settle for mediocrity.

Ridiculous comments. Leodis helped our vey next drive start at the 25. A drive we got zero out of. Those plays were backbreaking but only become "game losing plays" when you do nothing but kick field goals and rely on your defense for 3 quarters. You let teams hang around with that type of play. We should have lost to Minnesota, we DID lose to the Texans, and now the Chiefs as well all for the same reason. Watkins is the type of player you force plays to. He has shown that. I'll give them a pass for not looking his way vs Revis. It's absurd that he didn't get targeted against the KC secondary. The conservative play calling allows it to come down to these Brown and McKelvin type of plays. Not the other way around.

While I agree Richie is a solid player, and would be an upgrade they are not going to bring in a distraction like him right now during a 5-3 season. The playcalling can take a lot of pressure of the offensive line. The talent on this oline is NOT below average. They are just playing that way. Predictable play calling will kill an oline every time.

No one in their right mind would give up a top 5 or 10 guard for Jerry Hughes. While he has been a stud for us that is mainly due to Mario, Kyle, and Dareus right next to him. NFL teams know that. Thats why he was considered a total bust until he got to Buffalo, and also why we got him in exchange for Sheppard. I assure you his trade value did not go up that much in his 24 games or so with the bills

This offensive coaching is terrible. People can rationalize it all they want after a 20 point win, but it was the same thing last week when we were LUCKY to beat one of the worst teams in the NFL by 1 point with 1 second left. That was a game that we could have won at virtually any point during the first 59 minutes. It did not need to come down to a 4th & 20 conversion and a last second TD. The bottom line is that today we had a dismal offensive performance coupled with a great defensive performance (just like last week). It is just too obvious and frusturating that the offensive line is getting killed and stupid turnovers are being made because of the playcalling. Sammy Watkins is NOT COVERABLE! I repeat he is NOT COVERABLE! Throw him the ball more than 3 times. He should have 10 targets a game period. He has already proven to be that type of player, which rookie WRs rarely do. Im thrilled that we won, but the team is not winning in a way that shows we are on the right track. We are winning despite the playcalling. I disagree that the game situation dicated the play calling, because we dominated the first half and went into halftime up only 7 for that exact reason. Granted the 2nd half went fantastic, but with the way the 1st half was handing us scoring opportunities there is no way that we should have been kicking field goals or punting. Make the defense defend all of our offensive weapons in the redzone. Dont run it twice than let a great pass rush kill your QB. Play calling is a big part of Ortons mistakes as well as the Oline struggles.

There is sooooo many this is tough. Id have to say Aaron Maybin, TJ Graham, and Shawne Merriman are up there. I would like to add Mario, Stevie, and Fitz as all time "worst bills contracts". All decent players, but none of them have earned the contracts they received.

I feel like when we win it is in spite of EJ, and when we lose it is also in spite of EJ. Does anyone feel like he plays the entire game to just "not make a mistake"?? Every throw and every scramble is soooo indecisive. The times when the big plays open up he throws them too early due to a fear of being patient in the pocket. At this point in his career, it is the first option or bust. He has no clue how to go through his progressions. Very frusturating to watch. I want the guy to work out so bad, but I feel like he looks so inconsistent due to the mental part of the game. Not the physical.

Please remember this guy has played about 8-9 full NFL games. All of which were with a subpar team and coaching staff. The guy is probably doomed to fail in Buffalo, but let's at least give him the real chance to do it. The first problem was the low budget hiring of Marrone/Hackett here in Buffalo. Watch how quick Lovie turns the Bucs around. Watch how quick Jay Gruden or Jim Caldwell has their teams in playoff contention. You can't teach winning football until you bring people in that know how to do this on some level. EVEN COLLEGE FOR GOD SAKE! I'll even take a winning college coach!!! Please stop bringing in the low budget 8-8 coaches to try leading an NFL franchise. It doesn't work!! This team will not be successful until they have a true established head coach leading the charge. I love a Coach Marrone as a person, but he doesn't have the credentials for this job and never has.

Are you sure about this CodeMonkey? Even after "Fridge's" assessment of jersey wearing?? I expect big changes to the jersey market after this thread!