Lothar

Just checked out the Patsie site - showed video of both Moroney and Ty Warren at practice today - both look healthy so I'd expect we'd see at least 10 carries from the former and a healthy dose of the latter on the D-line. patsie website with video links Interesting quotes from Rodney Harrison -"even if we come out and play well on Sunday, we'll have to be right back out the next week playing the Jets and then Denver". Interesting in that their players HAVE to be looking just a little ahead - especially when their first 2 games are against ... urr ... "patsies". I don't imagine many Bills' players knowing who their week 3 opponent is. I think the natural inclination is for a good team to take our team lightly till we prove otherwise. And color me a homer but I think we'll be a competitive team all year. Not sure if that'll translate into more than 7-8 wins, but if we get to midseason at 4-4 (something not completely unreasonable), it should be a fun ride down the stretch. Gawd, we're long overdue some fun watching our team ...

jeez - our OL and DL backups truly suck.

Actually he's a west coast Pac-10 USC fan who tries to avoid looking like a west coaster by pimping his team du jour. I don't care who he picks - he's more entertaining than anyone else on ESPN. Now if you were comparing him to Dave Chapelle or sumthin', then talk to me - but Mike and Mike / Jim Rome and the other lineup of cleetuses - puhleeeze.

I wish we had a chance to see Ricard healthy - he definitely has better hands than Shelton. His injury surely made the "competition" a moot process. I also wonder if something happened to Shelton over the last year or maybe it's just age catching up to a physical position - I thought he was very capable his first year on the team but his performance this preseason has been atrocious.

yah they showed that promo on "Total Access" a couple weeks ago ... if he could do that, he'd be from another planet. Methinks it's some fine video editing.

He actually said he "couldn't make the bears" who he implied had bad quarterbacking. He, like most talk show hosts, wouldn't know who played 2nd string on just about any team. Take him with a grain of salt ... Personally, I've liked Cowherd since he did his local show here in Portland - always thought he was talented enough to go national. He at least talks football year-round - and call me crazy but his non-football "rants" are pretty funny when taken in small doses. Is there any national figure on sports radio that doesn't piss off half the listeners? I doubt it or he wouldn't last long.

Sven - I think you're missing the point here. The NFL and its network wants to charge a giant premium to TWC and all the other cable companies to carry it. Some of these companies are balking at paying a hefty fee to a network that doesn't have that many viewers. Instead, and to offset costs, they are suggesting that the network be in a premium package. Since NFLN will carry 8 games this year, they know they need national coverage to get decent ratings. Why not compromise and say we'll include it free the first year, see what kind of ratings we get and then determine the fee structure. In football terms, it's like a UDFA demanding a large signing bonus when he hasn't proved it on the field. And of course, you can compare this to other channels. Personally, I just want PBS, National Geographic, Comedy Central and the sports stations but I'm guessing I'm in the minority so I have to pay for the other 600 craptastic channels. I doubt any of 'em are asking for numbers like the NFL is though. “Cable subscribers should root for Time Warner and fear the NFL Network like a blitzing linebacker. If the NFL Network becomes as powerful as ESPN some day, you know who eventually will be thrown for a loss with constant rate increases to offset new programming costs? You, the subscriber.” — Alan Pergament. August 4, 2006. “Subscribers Have Much at Stake in NFL Spat.” Buffalo News

Also, you left out Leonard - I think he sqeaks in - has good instincts and can help on special teams.

Besides at least 2 drops that could have kept drives alive, he blatantly missed 2 blocks early in the game that kept McGahee from getting to the second level. In one instance - I think the 2nd or 3rd drive, he charged at the outside backer who deked to the outside and came around to trip up McGahee by the laces just as he was hitting the hole. As great a blocker as I've seen him be in past games, that may have been the single worst game I've seen out of him as a Bill. Good thing it was the preseason ...

If I'm not mistaken, I think DeLuca is the same guy who extolled the virtues of Zhitnik and Satan on the Sabres board and called out their GM for making bad trades and having crappy personnel. Methinks he's switching over to this board for negativity (since he's having a hard time with his "realism" posts over there) - this is probably a good sign for our football team. And while I think Tasker sucks as an announcer, he's no worse than the other local yokels who trumpet their teams.

Great job Lori. To add a few notes: - Big Ted has been a monster in the first 2 preseason games - maybe since his game never relied on speed or quickness - he's still thriving at the age of 38. Eagles averaged about 2 ypc and the Jets didn't do much better. Since there will actually be gameplanning for this, the third preseason game, expect to see the Bills use pulls and sweeps instead of ploughing up the middle to take advantage of our new OL's athleticism. - I like the way Romeo Crennel is building the Browns - they look to have a solid defense and some young studs on offense. I think Ross Tucker will be a boon to them this year and trading for him may save their season from collapse - I would love to have him as the swing center /guard on our team (gotta figure the BB/RC coaching connection played a part in that deal.) - Bills backups played well against Carolina but rather poorly for much of the 2nd half against Cincy. As far as what I'm hoping to see (besides the usual good game management from JP): -- no injuries -- a plus in turnovers (preferably no ints or fumbles from JP) -- more good run defense (I feel good that the pass D will come around, not completely sold on our run D just yet.) -- Powell or Neal stake a claim to the open backup DE position -- linebacker situation become clearer - will Hunter / Ellison / Ezekial / Odom supplant Stamer or Hagan? I believe Mario may not survive this cut with Hunter and Ezekial/Odom making the team and Ellison headed to the PS -- Peerless make a couple catches (just to relieve the tension about our #2) -- our #5 and #6 receivers come to the forefront - I'm guessing Evans/Price/Parrish/Aiken/Reed/Davis - Nance and Wilson stashed on the PS... if we didn't have all that bonus money tied up in Peerless and Josh, 1 of them would not make this cut.

I think the players' union has been getting gripes from the veterans about it - it'll be interesting to see if anything can be done about it in the near future. However, and given the 40-50% increase in revenue anticipated with this new TV contract, it may all be swept under the rug as vets get more money.

Wow Simon Great post! With the onset of excellent analysis from you, AKC and Lori, the season must be just around the corner. I thought I'd throw in a couple general observations from my view of the game. Offense: I agree with many of your observations but I wasn't quite as sold on the OL's collective performance as you. I watched a Tivo'd replay last night to do a few 1-mississippi 2-mississippi counts to see how much time our QBs actually had. Pretty much on all 6 of the sacks, a Panther got a hand on our QB inside of 3 seconds. I also did the same watching a lot of practice videos the last few weeks. Most of the releases on 5 and 7 step drops for our QBs occur between 3-4 seconds in training camp. Obviously, as blitzes come in the real games, you'd like your QB to make that read and find the hot receiver - something I've seen Losman do better in practice than in the 1st preseason game. I blame much of this on JP's footwork which he himself said caused mechanical breakdowns in his throws. When he had time and could set himself, he usually threw well - with the exception of the bomb to Aiken. I didn't see the holes you did in the running game - I still worry about our interior OL's ability to create creases for McGahee. In fact, as bad as the backups were in pass pro, I thought they did an ok job against the Carolina 2nd stringers in the running game. Defense: I was pleasantly surprised at the unit's performance after the first drive - mostly because of Kyle Anderson and Crowell's performances. I still worry we'll get gashed by a power running team. Carolina really isn't that without Stephen Davis - Cincy without Carson Palmer will give us a better feel for how our DL may hold up against a physical front. I'm not going to be shocked if this remains our achilles heel over the course of this year until we get a couple more bodies on that line. Also- and this was tough against a Carolina team that throws short outs as much as the Pats do -we really didn't get anything resembling a pass rush. In fact, just as Brady uses this short throw to slow down the rush and set up the deep stuff, we really will need to play a lot tighter (which according to McGee in his Bills Diary WILL happen against Cincy). We need that practice because we're going to see a style similar to Carolina come week one. Special teams: Not sure who did the ole' impression on the punt block but I'm assuming it wasn't one of our regulars. I think April's just trying to find who, among the special team candidates, would do well in blocking. I didn't see much positive since would-be tacklers bore down pretty easily on whoever was returning but given it was a first game, I'm not surprised. As someone who didn't think Aiken would survive this preseason, I've come to the realization that he may very well be our best special teams player and his contribution as a wideout when some size is required pretty much locks him in as a 4 or 5 on the depth chart. I'm assuming that Parrish and McGee will boost this unit's performance when real bullets fly.

heheheh - he said "keep dick up at night" - heheheheh

Whitner selection discussed Look, I too think we ought to have traded down a few picks but I feel a bit better about both moves. 8. Buffalo — S Donte Whitner, Ohio State Some outsiders might consider this pick a bit of a reach. The reality is that a lot of teams were lining up to secure Whitner, and he was graded as a consensus first-round talent around the league and would not have lasted much longer. He is very, very smart and instinctive and should replace Coy Wire in the starting lineup immediately. With intelligence and character being highly valued by new head coach Dick Jauron, a former NFL safety himself, Whitner was a natural fit. 26. Buffalo (from Chicago) — DT John McCargo, North Carolina State The Bills had a pressing need to fill at defensive tackle and were able to land a very underrated talent at this spot. McCargo is a great fit for new defensive coordinator Perry Fewell's defense and has drawn comparisons to Warren Sapp. With Justin Bannan, Ron Edwards and Sam Adams all having departed, the Bills desperately needed to move up to make sure they could land the three-technique so pivotal to improving their 31st-ranked run defense.

another pretty thorough analysis of John McCargo McCargo analysis per nfl.com and GMjr.

pretty complete analysis of strengths thru nfl.com Whitner is a junior who came out early for the NFL draft and is one of the better safeties available. Is a very good athlete with the natural explosiveness and playing speed to fly to the ball to make plays from sideline to sideline. Plays with the attacking, aggressive style that is hard to find, and it enables him to consistently play bigger than his size. Flies up in run support. On passes in front of him, will bend knees, get low and drive up into the ball carrier to make the hard hit. Is a versatile safety that has experience lining up in a variety of different alignments, which will offer his team the opportunity to move him around and use a variety of different defenses without having to substitute personnel. Overall, Whitner is probably going to slip lower in the draft than his production warrants, but it is due to his lack of size. He is going to be a good all-around starting safety in the NFL who consistently makes plays all over the field, against the run and the pass. Additionally, he will be a very good special teams player in the NFL.

That's HILL people to you sir. Maybe if you didn't pat pat pat the ball before posting ...

Is this the real Simon? I dunno man - I'm usually agreeing with much of what you have to say but if Hawk fell to us, I don't care if we have Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher, I take him. I've watched several of his games the last couple years and this kid has the speed, instincts and toughness to be an instant impact. It's rare you find that athleticism combined with great awareness (see Rob Johnson) - I'd be shocked if he doesn't become a superstar in this league. Unlike many others on this board, I'd be disappointed if we took Vernon Davis since it would mean we ignored trade down possibilities. Also, another 1st round QB would simply be deflating.

I thought this snippet from his "Personal" section on the BB site was interesting. PERSONAL: Active in the NFL Junior Player Development League in Queens, NY, which stresses the importance of education and football fundamentals...Garnered All-Queens honors and was selected to the Coaches All-City Team as a senior at August Martin HS in Queens, NY...Posted 18 receptions for 413 yards and five touchdowns as a tight end...Lettered twice in basketball, earning All-Queens honors...SEC All-Academic Honor Roll choice in 1996 and 1999...Made the Dean's Honor Roll in 1998...Three-time member of the University of Mississippi Athletic Association Honor Roll...Majored in management at Mississippi...Lives in Queens, NY...Single...Son: Tyriq Marqués Reyes...Full name: Tutankhamen Marqués Reyes. Dude comes with nickname in hand - King Tut.

Now THAT was funny

And I really hate to agree with you Bill because I don't think picking high round offensive linemen is the path to greatness, however, I'm wary of picking phenom athletes unless they show great instincts in college (re: Urlacher vs Wire or Flowers or Mamula).

Did anyone here watch Vernon Davis run the receiving drills at the combine? Look I have no problems calling him an athletic phenom but besides "bodying" every catch in the drills, I don't think he has the greatest hands. If it's the receiving element you want, go after Fassano from ND or the kid from UCLA. While I'm intrigued by Davis' potential, he ain't no "wide receiver in a tight end's body", more like an "insane athlete in a tight end's body". Very different. The delta between him and the great TEs in the league now are: a. experience obviously and b. they are all VERY good receivers - just watch how they catch the ball. Speed kills but his hands don't warrant a top 10 pick. Me, I'd rather not get caught up in the hype and unless a Hawk or D'Brick fell to us, I'd be workin the phones like crazy to trade down and get another 1st day pick.

Bentley has experience at guard and Faine is coming off his best season, so if no trading partner is found, I think this scenario is very possible. bentley/faine

I think that's a good pickup - gives them someone over the middle with great hands. Just imagine how good Smith can be with a little help.