Lothar

Ha ha - you said they do show prep ... not unless it's watching cat videos.

And there you go. It's because he'd be a good mentor.

It was supposed to be "block from behind" but it was still a bad call.

Jordan Palmer just lost Bears' backup job to Clausen. And just got released. Could he be a vet who helps EJ, especially against our week 1 opponent?

Personally, I don't think drafting another mid round qb is a panacea to the problems we see. I would have liked to see a vet brought in though. I'm guessing they thought their current backups would show progress from a "not horrible" performance last year (given conditions) but that's definitely a mark against them. I'm thinking Whaley's on the phone or scanning the waiver wire even now to get someone remotely competent as a backup. And for better or worse, they drafted EJ as a project qb so they're responsible for the progress he makes. I just hope it's quick enough or we'll be starting over. Again.

Oh jeez, give it up, dude! We get it. You're a great seer who was able to divine the team's collapse from an incident at training camp. It's not your opinion people find offensive, it's the incessant gloating over a mostly innocuous dust up after the longest training camp in recent memory. Who knows? By the end of the season, we may look back at events from this week as the catalyst for a playoff season. Who knows? Not I. Nor you.

How can you possibly say that? He juggled 2 rookies and a 2nd year 3rd stringer at the most important position on the team. He dealt with injuries to both top backs and didn't have a functional left guard the whole season. Personally, I think Hackett did a decent job given the situation and not trying to put too much on the inexperienced QBs. EJ appears to be progressing decently thru the offseason and preseason to me and if that continues, our O should be in the middle of the league rankings. If not, well, it could be a lost season - but I actually feel better about the toughness and makeup of this team than those of the last decade. Admittedly, we haven't made the playoffs in the last 14 years ...

Oh come on, a Bears fan comes in here and makes some respectful points about fanbases and their optimism and we get all defensive. Let's not get carried away by our own team's promise just yet. I like our chances but could very well see their offense overwhelm us - especially with a new scheme and missing Bradham.

I think Peterson is over rated by many on this board. He's a great athlete, but he gets burned as often as he makes plays. The difference between him and the truly elite like Revis, Talib, and yes, Sherman, is that they do shut down the opposing best receiver. Peterson is just as likely to give up a big play by overreacting to a setup move. Check the stats. He's NOT a shutdown corner. He does make some spectacular plays but good QBs are not afraid to go after him, maybe one of the reasons he sees more passes come his way than the truly elite. The one advantage he offers is his ability in the return game. I'd venture in 3 years, Gilmore will be closer to Revis than Peterson.

Interesting discussion between Dameshek and Jeremiah - essentially stating what we all know - that "you compare rosters across the league and the Bills look favorable on 21 of 22 positions". Also they've seen that we've got some rook wideout who might turn out ok. http://davedameshek.nfl.com/2014/07/28/ddfp-278-daniel-jeremiah-michael-fabiano/ To summarize the 7 minutes of discussion (it's the first segment of the podcast), if the ground game gets going and EJ can throw more than just quick slants, they like our chances.

"The Bills are building something. It’s not all the way there, and it tends to hurt losing players such asJairus Byrd and coaches such as Mike Pettine, but I believe this is a playoff-caliber roster. If — and it’s a big if — Manuel steps up. The system is there. They’ll run up-tempo again, maybe even faster than they were in early 2013, and another year at that pace can help Manuel. They have three running backs capable of handling/sharing the load now with Bryce Brown in the mix. Sammy Watkins makes the receivers so much more dangerous. No great tight end, but I think the O-line is respectable, with a few questions (left guard and right tackle might be weak spots). The defense is a strong unit that finished No. 9 in yards allowed last season. The defensive line has the makings of a very good unit again. The linebackers are strong, and Kiko Alonso could be a huge producer with his move to the “Will.” The secondary lacks anything resembling star power but is a lot cast with solid football players — a younger, slightly stronger version of what the Panthers had on the back end last season, let’s say." http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/shutdown-corner-s-overrated-and-underrated--2014-afc-story-lines-172451729.html Nothing new here ... but people are noticing the quality of the roster. And it's all about EJ's development this season.

I'll play along. How 'bout "Sa(y)- w(h)at?!!" after each jaw dropping play

While I like our draft, this looks like a Bills fan (look at the other reviews of our picks by the "author") played the role of "retired NFL scout" to drive visitors to his site. Not buying it.

Go read some of the scouting reports by real nfl scouts. He gave up 1.5 sacks this whole year, had 17 touchdown producing roadgrader blocks. He was reportedly not fully healthy at the combine. I believe that's why the Bill s waited till very late before having him visit. But in the actual Alabama games I saw, he wore down whoever was opposite him. He's not perfect. He's got heavy legs but his wingspan is huge. And he will be dominant in the run game.

Cyrus Kouandjio from Alabama. I think he was a top 10 selection before reports of an arthritic knee dropped his stock all the way down to maybe the 3rd round. But after his pro day and private workouts and this ... "Famed orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews has personally cleared Kouandjio’s knee as healthy even though he did not perform the surgery. He sent letters to all 32 teams to deliver this information. Alabama team doctor Lyle Cain, who did perform the procedure, said not only did Kouandjio not miss a game following surgery, he did not miss a practice and that there were no lingering issues with his knee like pain or swelling." and the fact that the Bills waited to bring him in as late as possible before the draft makes me think this was the mauler they wanted all along at 9. I think he would be available somewhere in the mid to late first so unless we have an ideal scenario where 3 or 4 QBs are chosen and Robinson or Mathews or Evans falls to us, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Bills dropping back a few spots if they can swing a deal for an extra 2nd or 3rd even to select Kouandjio over Ebron and Mosely. Especially because he is thought of as a better prospect than his former 'Bama linemate DJ Fluker (who a certain member of this board deifies but Fluker was certainly not all that in the few games I watched - including the playoff loss.) http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-1/Alabama-OT-Cyrus-Kouandjio-visits-Bills/ab4a328f-a670-4dac-a8fd-20ce6e7082fb

I think the problem with trying to draft a QB every year is you never find out whether the QB you just drafted is good enough. If EJ was horrendous - or showed no potential whatsoever - then, cut your losses and pick another one this year. But he shows flashes - and he generally seems to have poise so another year with first team reps and another year playing with starters is not asking too much. Otherwise, you'll constantly be in a state of disappointment. As Bills fans, I guess we're constantly in a state of disappointment so maybe that's not the right wording .... Let's see where we stand at the end of the year.

Not sure if this has been posted yet ... I see that they have OT, S and QB as top 3 needs and they give options for each day. Can't say I'm a big fan of their options besides Matthews. http://www.rotoworld.com/articles/nfl/46580/71/nfl-draft-needs-bills

From the guys who covered him on the Bears and Rams ... this just feels like a "meh" signing. http://espn.go.com/b...-chris-williams Rodak: Nick, what was your sense on how the Rams valued Williams? Do you think they wanted to bring him back as a starter? Wagoner: They had interest in bringing him back, though I think it's likely if he'd come back he would have either been a backup or, more likely, in a competition for the starting job like he was in 2013. To me, it made sense if they could get him back to serve as a swing man simply because he could play anywhere on the line except center. Having a player like that at a cheap price is pretty much ideal for a backup. But I don't think they were going to extend themselves too far to bring him back. Offensive line coach Paul Boudreau has a great reputation for taking reclamation projects and getting something out of them. Although this is another starter subtracted from the line, I believe the Rams feel they can upgrade the starter at this spot and develop someone else to fill a backup swing role he could have had.

That wasn't the point I intended and I'm sorry if it came off as being crabby - I really do appreciate your inputs on most topics. I listened to Peyton's post game conference and he was complaining about the substitution issues on his side. And THAT - like you said - is an experienced, veteran team. While our mistakes are no less egregious, I'd rather focus on some of the bigger details like playcalling and getting our injured secondary back in the right roles and to me, this is a subset of the 'penalty issue'. Yes, it needs to be fixed. No, it's not unforgivable for a young team with lots of injuries trying to find their way.

In New Orleans, they're not bashing the head coach for having only 10 men on the field on two different occasions. Haters gonna hate.

This is what you call cutting your nose off to spite your face. I'm not sure why people can't separate their fandom from reality in these discussions.. Eugene Parker is a fair but tough negotiaitor according to pretty much every source out there. What happened to Byrd is just 2 sides simply not agreeing to the value of his skills. I think - if I look at it objectively like Joe B discussed ad nauseum on WGR - the Bills made a mistake. But punishing an agent and lowering a player's value also does a couple other things: it spoils the water in future negotiations and, even if it lower's the player's value, it also lowers his trade value. That's lose-lose. Something good NFL teams try to avoid. I have no ill will toward Byrd. As a fan, I'm disappointed at the apparent lack of negotiations.

I don't think it's black and white based on this mostly-numerical analysis, But the 8-8.5 mil per range (with the difference being front-load vs back-load) seems like a worthwhile risk for the Bills. http://www.wgr550.co...Bills-/16784046

Ugh. This is searching for conspiracies alright. Byrd played for Belotti, not Kelly. To me these are just tough negotiations. Let 'em play out.

Wait, what? I guess you can read this in one of two ways but I'm not quite sure what this says about our new offense ... http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/05/19/manuel-says-buffalos-offense-is-easier-that-florida-states/

Mostly fluff. What did it feel like to be the first QB drafted - blah blah blah Asked about his experience thus far in OTAs, he mentioned the emphasis on footwork and wanting to improve a little bit every day "Did CJ warn you about the cold and lake effect snows in December? Seeing as you played in the warm climate of the ACC" No, but he's a football player and will do fine. I think these interviews are as revealing as poop until people have something real to talk about.