Tasker

Of course not. Lee often finds himself ten yards or more downfield, well out of Holcomb's range. Meanwhile JP takes some flack for missing an "easy" touchdown on a ball he threw 50 yards downfield (and over 55 total if you factor in the angle hashmarks to sideline). I think Holcomb is a valid backup, and I don't think the personal issues and mutiny ideas should be a large factor. But of Nall can show he can be a good #2, I don't think the difference in #3 quarterback is worth keeping noodle-arm around. Also, I'm not knowledgable at all about these things, but aren't we under the cap this year? If so wouldn't a cap hit now be no big deal, as opposed to having his contract on the books next year when we might be closer to the cap?

I commented on this in another post, and I think your assessment is dead on. I thought this was JP's best play of the night, and a great throw. I'm glad we have Aiken showing good things, because I am down on Price and Reed.

I would have taken Cutler over Leinart too. But I think we will rather have Losman plus Whitner over one of those guys over the next 4-5 years. I could be wrong, but I'm going to pretend I know what I'm talking about until it's proven otherwise.

Making the decision before the Bengals game would go against what they have done up until this point. If JP plays at all well in his start against the Bengals, he gets named the starter the monday after. The real reason I'd like to see it sooner is so that JP can get more practice reps, especailly with Nall back.

Per my earlier post, I would definitely like to see a lot more of Aiken. I will be very happy if he plays and Josh Reed sites. I'd rather have a bad contract than a bad player on the field. It's Ralph Wilson's money, but it's MY team.

Kyle was great, and I did some Tivo slow stuff too to check out the lines. But Triplett and McCargo will be fine too. Very exciting to have a bunch of guys who can play at this position. I can't wait to see the D as Spikes comes back and Whitner settles in. It would be nice to see Ko work his way in at Safety too, but Vincent is a pro, and I hope he plays well which could mean waiting a year.

Kinda like JP last year except... ...LT is a notch above Willis... ...Marty Shott knows to run the ball sometimes... ...oh yeah they have the best tight end on the planet... ...oh yeah they have a competent O-Line.... ....oh yeah they have a great D... So I think SD will be alright with Rivers, but if we cut Holcomb and make Nall our #2, they could always sign Kelly and let him get half the starts to see if they can screw up Rivers season...

Yeah, I think we forget just how great Eric was, and how good he still is. But I would ask a followup question. Can Sam Aiken be better than Josh Reed? Not based on just the Carolina game obviously. I don't know enough about either, but I get frustrated with the Reed drops.

I do have to admit, I was a little bit happy. I don't want KH guiding this team, and I don't really care about preseason final scores. Although an incomplete followed by a 40 yd run by Willis would have done just fine. No ill will to KH, but my warped-uninformed football fan knowledge leads me to believe that playing JP is the better move for the Bills, and I don't want Jauron to have any wiggle room to blow the decision. However I would like to clarify, I was very glad Holcomb beat the Bengals last year even though some people considered it just a lower draft pick (D'Brick?). When the game counts, winning matters. Losing doesn't build character, but winning helps build winners.

Watching the game, and knowing what I know about the D, I don't think that McGee is supposed to be a shutdown corner and the D played him mostly in man to man. Our D got burned on the opening series. I wouldn't have any specific worries about Terrance judging from that series.

Watched the game on Tivo, and since I already knew what happened I watched interesting plays several times looking at them closer (can't do real game tape analysis with a TV broadcast, but I was trying). I think JP made excellent reads all the way around. He through a 3rd and 7 incomplete that looks just like an incomplete, but he scrambled out of a sack, and threw a perfect ball on the sideline that could be either a completion by our guy or out of bounds. The DB made a great play, but I was very impressed with on the run putting a ball where it was catchable for the receiver (Price) if not broken up, but a DB had no chance for an interception, only breaking it up. Also worth noting that after his slow start he completed a lot of passes. I'm not worrying about the quality of the D, etc, because I'm looking at this on his accuracy. He made some bad throws, especially early, but also had a drop among his 9 incompletions. Also, another incompletion that he got some flack for was when the WR got separation beyond the DB on the left sideline deep and he missed the throw long and out of bounds. It is worth noting that as he stepped up his jersey was grabbed (so he was under pressure), and the ball he threw was from the Buffalo 41 to the Carolina 5, so 54 yards in the air. It is nice to throw accurate 54 yard bombs under pressure, but missing it was not like when he missed an open Moulds last year against Carolina in the closing minutes. Additionally he had three completions at least called back for penalties. I think his reads were consistenty good, even when he didn't throw the ball well. I'm very excited to see him next week as the starter against Cincinnati with Evans and McGahee working with him.

Willis is a stud. Maybe not the right longterm fit for Buffalo, but Willis wasn't that far from wrong when he said he was the best. A line and a consistent passing game and good play calling, and he is a pro bowler. Even if we don't get all that stuff, he will be a very very good player. He got more screwed by Mularkey than JP did, and everybody seems to forget it. Obviously a Holcomb passing game, our O-Line from last year, and Mularkey play calling and lack of confidence does not make an easy path to success. I guess when he ran for 140 against Atlanta 143 against the Jets and 136 against the Pats in the first half he was just coasting on the strength of the O-Line. Willis is going to have a huge year this year, and even better next year when our line is better and JP is more experienced, and even better two years from now when our team is even better. Get your McGahee jersey's now, because everyone will have them pretty soon.

If a valid trade were possible that would improve the rest of our team more than losing Clements would hurt our secondary then it should obviously be considered. But this isn't baseball at the trading deadline, and getting value in return for deals isn't always easy. I'll take my chances with Nate helping our D this year, and then have Ko and Ashton coming along so that we can spend our free agent money and draft picks on the line next winter instead of worrying about replacing Nate.

Did you guys see the 3rd and 7 play in the second quarter where JP eluded linemen twice, rolled out to the right, threw on the run, and almost hit Price for the 1st down. They showed some different angles, and other than the athleticism to get away, it was a really good read, he threw a great pass to a point as far on the sideline as he could and give price a chance to catch it, had no real chance of being intercepted even though the DB closed and broke it up. Goes in the books as just an incomplete pass and time to punt, but that was a hell of a play and showed a lot of what this kid can do. Throughout the night I was happy with his reads. He needs to improve his accuracy, which he did as the game progressed. I've always been a JP fan, but watching this game and being able to look at plays a couple times with the Tivo, I am very happy with the performance. I think that once the coaching staff looks a the tape things will be even more clear cut than they are now.

I'm watching the game on TiVo. I guess I've been a while without the Bills, because I'm going back and rewatching the plays I read about last night. A couple quick observations: The quick penetrating D-Line approach of our new D seems just fine. After the first series which we didn't get enough of a pass rush, I was impressed with how many plays were broken up, and how often we had guys in the backfield contributing. As we get Spikes back in there, Dante settled in, and a better grasp of the D, I think the front line is going to be very effective, and we know our LB and Secondary can play. Just saw the blocked punt, and it was just a dumb mistake by Josh Stamer that will be pointed out on film and never happen again (knocks on wood).

I think that's what the regular season is supposed to be at this point. I am happy that he is earning his starting role and his teammates respect. Don't forget the tight ends though...they are a young quarterback's safety valve.

Very simple answer. When Davis runs, he often takes his route past the first down marker. Holcomb either can't or chooses not to throw beyond the first down marker. Most of the night he was looking for Moulds on a five yard out before realizing that good sir Eric is in Texas now.

LT didn't play tonight in San Diego, so why should Willis? I'm expecting a big season from him, but other than rookies needing some game experience, preseason (and especially first game) is not a big time for no. 1 running backs. No need to get bruised up before the season starts.

Wow... 5-11? So losing Mularkey and his bad play calling and player relationships, getting a more mature JP to start all 16 games, adding Triplett and McCargo up front and Dante in the secondary, picking up Fowler and Reyes, getting Willis more involved, getting Royal and getting Everett healthy, getting Spikes back, and we don't improve a game? Could be right, 5-11 could happen, but that is pretty pessimistic, and I don't understand why someone who likes the Bills enough to write about them in the preseason wouldn't want to look at some more upside. I guess you really are looking forward to that "I told you so" when all us optimists are proved wrong. This is the NFL and a lot can happen. More than 1/3rd of teams in the last six seasons coming off 5-11 seasons managed to win 10 or more games. I'm not saying we will get there, but this can be a very positive step forward in our rebuilding. I agree of not getting ahead of ourselves with JP. I just hope they realize he is the best thing we have and he needs to play. Sitting Holcomb isn't going to cost us a Super Bowl, and if we didn't think JP had a decent shot in developing we were silly to pass on Leinart and Cutler. JP needs to start 16 games this year, and I hope that leads us to 9-7 and not 5-11. Excitement when he does well is nice, but we have to be patient and judge him on the big picture progress. QB is different from every other position on the field, and we really have to find out what we have with him this season, because if he isn't the guy we have to know by next off season.

I come out of this game pretty happy. The D did well other than the first drive, and that's without Spikes and only half a Whitner. JP showed some good stuff, and KH was terrible. We will have to wait and see on the O-Line, but that is still a potential worry, even if better than last year. It is just a preseason game so we can't read too much into it. However I'm starting to wonder about Josh Reed. We already were worried about him, but a receiver who can't catch is like a pitcher in baseball who can't throw strikes. Everything else in the world doesn't matter if they don't get it, and it is something that some people can't improve on. I think that Price and Davis might take away his playing time, and his signing will be a bust, but I wish him well and hope he proves me wrong.

I love his ESPN commercial too, and I don't think this comment is a big deal at all. I also don't think he has any real weaknesses, but it will remain to be seen how his durability is when he is carrying the ball more, and not on the plus end of OL / DL talent mismatches like he had all through college. He is a spectacular talent, and I hope he is as much fun to watch as Barry Sanders. Could make for some very enjoyable Fox games. I don't have any problem with Willis's comments from last year either. I wish Mularkey would have had his back and said he loved the confidence and hoped it came true instead of cutting off his player at the knees. I can't wait to see Willis run this year. I think we will see something special this year, and I especially hope he tears up Miami twice and in the red zone we call his number over and over and he pounds it in. I'm sure Mularkey will pass a message on to the defense to double team Shelton.

I think that this is being misread. I think JP is our starting quarterback, and hopefully that doesn't get screwed up. But after being handed the team last year, the coaching staff and front office clearly wants JP to earn it this year. If he outperforms KH in several preseason games and is named starter he has earned it. If they did it now before the first preseason game based on being slightly better in training camp it would be doubted. Having KH start the first game takes off even more pressure, and gives JP a chance to shine and clearly earn the role in everyone's eyes. Don't get me wrong, I don't think JP is fragile and needs to be coddled and have the pressure taken off of him, but after last season, I think this could clearly help. I think he should have started 16 times last season, and if he did, things would be in a better situation right now. But he didn't, and it is a competition, and a competition like this (going back a year with 8 starts each) should not be won in a couple weeks of practice when they can wait until after preseason games and look like geniuses. The one good thing for JP is that Nall got hurt, because I would hate to see JP limited to 1/3rd of the reps. Holcomb isn't good, and has no chance of getting better. He is what he is, and that is a competent backup quarterback, and we should be happy to have him in that role once JP gets named starter. I'm certainly not rooting against KH tonight, but I hope that JP really shines and makes things a lot clearer by tomorrow morning. Then they can flip flop them for the next game, saying that they are just mixing it up, and then if JP outperforms again, he can be named starter and we can live happily ever after.

Yep, I prefer the low attention. Then we can play the season one game at a time and maybe come out better than anybody would have expected before anybody notices.

I don't now if an 8-day hold out needs to be punished, or we have to pretend he is not our opening day starter after being picked #8. I guess Coy Wire needs his reps I'd like to just see Dante play and play a bunch. But as long as Holcomb doesn't go four quarters because he gives us a better chance to beat Carolina I'll be happy. And maybe Shelton can not touch the ball on the goal line. I'm just ready for some football.

If JP starts 16 times and things go well we can win 9 games. Key injuries and things don't go well and we could get stuck at 5-6. Getting to 10+ would mean everything going right, but that happens in the NFL (37% of 5-11 teams since 1999 won at least 10). I think talent wise this is a 7-8 win team, but the best thing about the NFL is that talent and roster is only part of the equation, and luck, momentum, injuries, and go a long way. But I don't get people who are big enough fans to be reading and writing about a team on a message board in early August not showing any optimism. I know that both the early 90s and the early 00s have are a heavy burden for Bills fan, but one big season can get rid of a lot of demons...just ask the Red Sox and White Sox (or Broncos or Patriots or other never-wins who won). I don't think that the big season is going to be this year, but I'm excited about watching it unfold and being a stepping stone to that Super Bowl victory.