Luxy312

No excuses really. Miami lost to what may be the worst team this season in the NFL and struggled versus another mediocre team. This weekend's game is a "told you so" game by whichever sports writers you want to believe in predicting what was going to happen in the AFC East. Buffalo beats Miami and you can say they hung with the Patriots, but start the season 2-1. Miami beats the Bills and they're the same team we've seen before that can't seem to win divisional games. At the end of the day, if the Bills can't beat the teams that are supposed to be and ARE good, then it doesn't really matter.

The offensive line looked just fine to me. At the end of the day there isn't an offensive line in the NFL that's going to give someone the amount of time that Taylor was using to make decisions. 3.5-3.0 seconds is generally the guideline of what a quarterback is shooting for. Yesterday, TT was WAY beyond that. You could see him just getting completely lost with what was going on. Hopefully it's the exception and he'll improve, but I wouldn't say by any stretch that we have a "situation" with the offensive line.

I think it's funny how some just wanted Rex to be "hush hush" before the game with the Patriots. Why? We know from experience that it is not in his nature to be quiet. We know he's a guy with some fire in his belly. Personally, I embrace it. Win or lose, at least he's capturing the attention of the players and bringing the team together. That's more that we can say for the zero personality Doug Marrone.

Just stop already. Dallas doesn't want Cassel. They didn't want him when the Bills released him before and they don't want him now. Cassel has ZERO value. Assuming Phily would even be looking for a quarterback, they would be looking for someone that can run Chip Kelly's option. That is NOT EJ. Also, you must just completely ignore the fact that Bradford signed a 6-year $78 million deal with Phily with $50 million guaranteed. This idea that we'll trade Cassel for anything other than a half eaten fish taco just has to stop. It's beyond stupidity.

I'm not sure that's entirely accurate. The Patriots first interception put them on the Bills 30 yardline, where they calmly took 5 plays to score a touchdown. That, all by itself has the potential to be a 10 or 14 point swing. I've said it a million times that the turnover battle is the single most statistically significant factor in predicting the outcome of a game. -1 in turnovers and a team wins only about 10% of the time. -2 and it's less than 4%. All by himself, Tyrod put them at -1 yesterday.

I haven't read through all of the comments in this thread, but my thoughts can be boiled down to the following: 1 - For all of the color commentary on how good this defense was supposed to be, it didn't show yesterday. Is it just me or did it seem like the Bills were sending just 3 guys almost all day? I'm not sure there was even physical contact with Brady outside of the two coverage sacks they had. 2 - While his stat line looked OK (23/30) as a passer, 3 turnovers is not acceptable. I'll remind everyone that when you're -1 in turnovers that as a team you lose 90% of the time. 3 Turnovers were 100% on Tyrod. 3 - Also on Tyrod is 8 sacks. Perhaps not all of them, but most of them. He lingered on many occasions for far too long in the pocket and just didn't see receivers that were open. 4 - The offensive play calling was atrocious. I watched the Patriots put 8 or 9 guys in the box over and over again, and the play call was still "run middle". Where were the throws over the top? Why did they pay so much for Charles Clay if they were going to use him so much more like they did Scott Chandler? 5 - 37-13. That's the score that everyone should be focused on. The final score is nice and all to say that they were within a touchdown, but they really were not. It's akin to looking at the score last week at 27-14 and saying it was "close one". The reality in both cases is that there was a 24 point lead, at which point the game was basically already over. 6 - A loss at Miami next week will mean that the season is essentially over. You can say that it's premature, but I really don't think so. It's early in the season, but it's no less of a statement game than this one should have been. Everyone had the Bills as the third best team in the AFC East behind the cheaters and the Dolphins. To start off 1-2 plays right into that expectation. I don't care if they win the next 5 after that in a row. They won't of course, but the fish are a must win at this point.

W2 Patriots......they win this one and it's a no brainer. Playoffs and AFC championship.

Rick roll them with "never gonna give you up".

As long as the offensive player doesn't initiate contact, it's perfectly legal to run picks. Sometimes it comes down to a judgement call by the referee, but New England and Denver ran pick plays more than any other team last year.

Suh was a good add for the Dolphins no doubt. I look at pretty much everything else they did as an even exchange. Added Stills/Jennings/Cameron, but lost Hartline/Wallace/Clay. Added Mosley, but lost Starks and Odrick. So they were 8-8 last season with what they had. Does Suh really put them in a position to win 11 or more? I have my doubts. By contrast, the Bills have upgraded their offensive line, running backs, wide receivers, tight end, two fullbacks and basically kept the same guys they had on defense. Now we're taking a 9-7 team from last year (arguably one that would have been 8-8 if the Patriots needed that last game) and saying that they're just an 8-8 or 9-7 team this year. I'm fine with that if they would just come out in their "analysis" with that type of perspective. You effectively have to say that compared to Orton, that Tyrod will be a steaming pile of garbage. I also have my doubts about that.

If this works out, it quite frankly could be the template for getting quarterbacks going forward. I forget where I read it, but someone wrote about how quarterbacks coming out of college have become less and less prepared for the NFL based on the simplicity of the offenses being run at the college level. The writer even speculated that in the future, teams would draft a QB and do exactly what happened here. After the first 4 games of the season, I think we'll know. If they're 4-0 or 3-1, then I would say yes. I say yes, because I don't think the Bills are going to win versus either Indy or New England without scoring some points. I love our defense and they played great last year, but still allowed 20+ points in half of their games. If this team is 2-2 or worse, then definitely not. With all of the offensive improvements on this team, he has to be better than a nearly 0.500 Kyle Orton last year.

Thurman Thomas said something similar in multiple interviews. Those 90's Bills basically ran something like 6-7 plays. But they ran those plays out of multiple formations which created confusion for the defense. This is what I think we're going to get from Roman, and I'm looking forward to it. I'm hoping this season is fun.

What's not to like about this deal? Dareus may just be the most important player on the Bills defense. It was evident to me when he wasn't on the field last year. Sure, Mario, Kyle and Jerry are important too, but I think Dareus is the lynch pin that gives the front 4 enough horsepower to get to the quarterback without sending blitz help. Quite frankly, I think Dareus is the reason the Dolphins went out and got Suh. They saw a model that works. When you have a guy in the middle that forces opposing teams to put two guys on, every single play, you open up opportunities for the others to bring quarterback pressure.

Sadly, almost none of these guys doing their "power rankings" do any real analysis to go with their rankings. Is the Bills QB situation better than it was with Kyle Orton? Some could say the same, but I would say they've improved. Is the O-line better? Check. Playmakers on offense? Check. Offensive line? Check. Improved in a ton of different ways, but now a division bottom dweller that's going to go 6-10 or 4-12. Just a lot of stupid to go around I guess.

For me it all comes down to his play relative to wins and losses. If Buffalo is winning, it's pretty easy to say "leave him in". A winning team makes for much more forgiving fans. If they lose and he's making bone headed throws or missing plays he should make to move the markers, then I want him out of there. The Bills have more offensive weapons than they've had since the team in the 90's. TT will have every opportunity to show us that he's capable of using them. However, if he's terrible and the team starts the season 0-2 at home as a result, I'll want to see someone else in there.

He does sit down when he pees.

I wish this were going to be the case, but history is just against us on this. Even with the best defensive front fours that he's had, he's blitzed a lot. I'm not really optimistic that that won't continue.

I don't believe the Bills will win without good play from Tyrod. I think he'll have no less than 250 yards passing and 50 yards on the ground. Like others, I believe Roman will keep the play calling to him staying in the pocket, but also believe that Taylor will improvise some. I'll say two touchdowns and no turnovers as well. This is Taylor's chance to start and I just don't see him being reckless with the ball out of the gates.

This 100%. If Taylor plays well and this team ends up winning the AFC East (I know that's a big "if"), why wouldn't they pay him? Joe Flacco has been an above average quarterback during the season and played lights out in the playoffs. He's a reason the Ravens are a consistent playoff team and were a Superbowl winner. He got a 6 year $120+ million deal with $50+ million guaranteed as a result. I will say this. Playoffs on the surface won't get him a big contract unless his play is spectacular.

What I know right now is that in practice and the preseason, Taylor has looked better than Orton EVER looked. I know that McCoy is the best RB the Bills have had since Thurman Thomas. In terms of Carpenter, he's a kicker. Anyone basing their season predictions off a kicker is a flipping idiot. My biggest concern is the health of the secondary. That's a legitimate concern, but not what that idiot Barnwell was even focused on. That's exactly the point and you helped me make it.

Barnwell's "analysis", if you can even call it that, is a complete joke. At the onset, his premise is that the bills will "bounce back and forth between Taylor and Manuel". Based on what exactly, no one knows. All we know right now is that Taylor will be the starter. He's been the most consistent on the practice field and in the preseason. Based on actual information, Taylor is the guy. So that's fail #1. Sammy Watkins costed two first round picks when he may be the third best receiver in that draft. Possibly true, but doesn't take into account that this was the best WR draft in at least 20 years. Hindsight is great, but Watkins was the consensus #1 guy at his position. Had Evans and Beckham not performed as well as they did, writers would be swooning over how well Watkins did in his rookie season. Fail #2. Now we get to the decision to trade for McCoy. Barnwell calls it "baffling". Never mind that Fred Jackson was the oldest running back in the NFL. Never mind that CJ Spiller has been hurt every year except one and can't stay on the field. According to Barnwell, it makes no sense to trade almost nothing for who's been one of the NFL's most productive RB's as a runner and receiver over the last 3 years. Fail #3. At the end of the day, they were 9-7 with a mediocre Kyle Orton last season WITHOUT the cadre of weapons they added on offense. They were 9-7 with a shoddy offensive line. Now, according to this idiot, their upside is one more win. Their downside of course is losing 5 more games. I can't believe I actually wasted 4 minutes of my life reading his crap.

Nobody claims Cassel and he starts the season as a free agent. At the end of the day, what's his value at this point? He knows exactly two playbooks, Buffalo and Minnesota. The Vikings have moved on and now so has Buffalo. I neither like or dislike him, but recognize him for what he is. He's a journeyman quarterback that had one good year each with the Patriots and Chiefs and otherwise average career. Barring a major injury on a team without a reliable backup (of which there's few), his career may be over.

Still sidestepping the point. It doesn't matter whether the substance is legal or illegal. All that matters is whether it's on the list of banned substances by they NFLPA. There have been players in the past with ADD that got legal prescriptions from their doctors for Adderall to treat it. The problem there is that any type of amphetamine is on the list. I'll say again that legal or illegal is not relevant to the discussion. Hopeful gets that (thanks!).

Nope. Read articles. Banned substance, not illegal substance. Reported by both USA Today and NFL.com. http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2015/05/21/nfl-suspends-bills-defensive-tackle-dareus--1-game/27727465/ http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000493823/article/marcell-dareus-suspended-for-first-game-of-15-season My point remains the same anyway. Players can get suspension for PLENTY of substances that are legal. What matters is what's listed in the NFLPA, not what's allowed by the law.

Whether it's illegal or not is irrelevant. The question is whether it was on the NFLPA's banned substances list.