ax4782

As to the original post, I wouldn't call a ranking of 20 out of 32 "behind most everyone else." That would be middle of the pack. I expect that after the season the rankings will look different. Plus, guys, its TSN. They really should stick to ranking the QBs in the CFL.

I disagree. I think this is exactly the type of player you want to lock up to keep you from getting on that treadmill to nowhere. TD and that regime made a habit of selecting and overpaying for guys and then not filling in the gaps that make the team go. Williams is a solid DT who is an excellent rotational player. With Stroud, Johnson and a fast improving McCargo, this solidified an important part of the our future on D. Evans needs to show during the season that he is deserving of the kind of money that he is demanding. I expect us to sign him after he has shown that he puts up better numbers than what you would expect from a solid number two. As for Peters, yeah, he's probably one of the top-3 LTs in the league right now. The problem is, he has only been such for one season. There have been a lot of one hit wonders in this league at all kinds of positions. He just got a solid pay raise. People say that Dockery is getting paid more at guard and our best player is only getting the third highest pay check. Well, Dockery is a proven veteran who showed his value last year. Peters is still raw and young. I want to see more out of him this season before I say he is deserving of the massive contract that he is likely to demand. He's got three years on his deal. Either way, he isn't going anywhere. Plus, money talks, and there is no way he misses games and gets his salary docked. He'll be in camp and on the field, and if he proves he is actually worth the money as the season goes along, he'll get it. The Bills have been smart about not overpaying for quality and are well under the cap. If these two players show they are actually worth the big money, the team will give it to them.

As to the FB situation, I don't think that much has changed. Barnes isn't Lorenzo Neal, but he is a solid run blocker, with ok hands. I think it is unfortunate that Viti got hurt, though he may be back on the PS by the end of the season. I don't think this changes much at all. The Bills will still use a true FB in the offense which should help in the running game. As for me being "one step closer to being wrong" how d'you figure? Because Viti isn't going to play at FB? Seriously? Barnes is adequate for the position as it stands and I didn't think that the Bills were going to use the FB slot much in the short passing game anyway, at most 10-15 catches all season. To suggest that somehow my argument about the O improving all hinged on the FB is just ridiculous.

To be fair, I said he would have a shot to be the starter. I'm not convinced he didn't get cut because of the injury he had. My point at the time was that anyone who saw him play college ball had to admit the guy had the size and athleticism to play the FB position at the NFL level. The fact that Darian Barnes is going to be the fullback now shouldn't have everyone here beaming with pride and that I told you so spirit. The fact is, we might be better off continuing the use of the H-Back if that's all we've got. At least we know that Schouman has decent hands. That being said, I think it's too bad the kid got cut, but them's the brakes. I can admit when I'm wrong. I really did think he had a shot at it, and frankly, I do think the injury he sustained had something to do with this. My bet is he's back on the practice squad at the start of the season.

And yet, we lost both of those games only at the last second. Again, statistics don't tell the whole story.

I see. So when the Bills lose to Denver in a "completely flukey game" or lose to the Cowboys in a "completely flukey game" that was because we suck and can't play with the good teams. But when we beat the Redskins with the same type of fourth quarter drive, including an excellent read and throw by Edwards, that set up the game winning field goal with less than two minutes to play, that had nothing to do with solid play and execution by the offense.In my book, this is exactly the type of comment that shows you look at the Bills with fire and brimstone colored glasses and refuse to see any positive improvement by the team. I agree with some of your points. No we were not superb last year on D and the O was terrible. But I look at the changes and see a solid reason to expect improvement, not just because there is almost no way to do worse, but because the team is actually better and more competitive. Maybe I'm wrong, and if that day comes, I'll happily eat my dish of crow, served cold. That being said, I just think you are looking at everything about this team in completely the wrong way. I'm wonderfully familiar with the theory of keep expectations low, such that, when they don't pan out, you won't be disappointed and if they turn out better than expected then hey, that makes the surprise even greater. But I think there are certain times where you can let that go. Try and see the positives here. The rookie QB that you seem to think is the worst in NFL history based on some of your prior posts, was 5-4 with those horrible stats, and he played well enough to keep us in a couple of close games that with even minimal improvement we would win next year. Let's try to be optimistic for a change, before the season. Save the pessimism for mid season when we know where the team actually is.

Perhaps you should ask yourself a couple of questions when it comes to McCargo, like, how has he played when he has been out there. Oh, yeah, he had the highest sack total for a DT on the team, and he had the highest percentage of Solo Tackles/Total Tackles rating on the team and the highest tackle for loss numbers on our team as a DT last year. Perhaps that is why any person who looks at or writes about this team's D says that he will almost definitely have a great year this season next to Stroud. Also, last year was effectively his rookie season considering he missed thirteen games his first year with a foot injury that required surgery. So please, stop judging players that you clearly have no knowledge about. And also, he is first on the depth chart at the 3-Tech this season, with Stroud being the first string at the 1-Tech. Those two together should be an excellent combination. As for your comments about Whitner, I think his play on the field has demonstrated that he was worth the 8th pick in the draft. He is in on almost every defensive play and he is rarely beaten when he picks up deep coverage. He also has extremely good tackling numbers and technique. More importantly, he has asserted himself as a leader on the Defense and is taking that role seriously. Considering that he is the person on the field who is responsible for calling the defensive signals for the secondary, I would say that is a pretty big deal. So before you go criticizing players, perhaps you should look at the stats and review the games. With Whitner and McCargo you clearly haven't done either.

And note that last season, due to the lack of push from Triplett and Williams up the middle, Schobel got a LOT of double teams and still managed to get 6.5 sacks. Not a lot, but with the number of double teams he was facing, that's not absolutely terrible. Also, teams typically moved their TE over to help when he face a team's LT. Whoever suggests that Schobel is not double-teamed on every play has no idea how blocking schemes are executed and how you deal with a player who is the only legitimate pass rusher from the outside.

Actually, SF wasn't saying all the right things last year. Many people, including myself, were skeptical at the time that the team would be able to execute a Mike Martz style offense. We only had one receiver who could move down the field and our RB was an unproven rookie at the time. Our QB was unproven and had a horrible record as a starter, with a rookie as a backup. So, no, SF wasn't saying any of the right things at the beginning of the season. TS, on the other hand, seems to have a grasp of what the players in this offense can actually do. He has said that they intend to use shorter drops with more timing routes, and to get the backs involved. That IS something that the offense can do. I frankly could care less if we NEVER threw the ball 40+ yards all season, so long as the offense moves the chains and scores points. Opening it up doesn't necessarily mean throwing long 10 times a game. What it means is giving your offense more flexibility and not becoming predictable. Schonert seems to recognize that, and he isn't babying the team either. Further, you never saw JP going to Florida and Arizona to work on timing and passing with Evans and Royal to make sure that both he and they stay on track after Evans was out of OTAs with an injury. Same with Royal. Further, the players are putting in much more time than they did last year working after practice. You didn't see JP asking the offense to stay after for extra work to make sure they were getting their mistakes corrected. Edwards is leading, rather than just accepting his position and taking it for granted. That is a significant difference from last year. All the onus for success isn't on the coaching staff. It's on the players too, and how much they are willing to do to win. The team is putting in the time this year and it will pay off. Finally, Buffalo doesn't have to be a top-5 offense to make the playoffs. We need to get to somewhere in the mid twenties, IMO to make a solid run. The D will be improved. Stroud has shown no signs of a nagging injury with the ankle in the OTAs and both of the rookie receivers played well against the top coverage unit. Again, I don't expect Hardy to come out and have a 100-1300-12 season. I expect a 48-650-6 season out of him and if Johnson can have half that, I would say they were successful. And frankly, this argument that people make that winning the games you are supposed to win, like against the Jets and the Phins, are meaningless and can be dismissed, is just crap. Folks, teams that are good and improving win the games they are supposed to. Teams that are on the decline or who are currently terrible lose those games. The Bills have finally started to win those games. At least recognize that as being true. And the fact is that two of the loses we had last year, Denver and Dallas, were by a combined two points. So for as bad as the team was, we were two points away from a 9-7 record. All this talk that the team totally sucked and Dick Jauron is the worst coach ever is bull. You have said that all that matters is the record at the end of the season. So if the team had gone 9-7 with all the injuries and the problems, would you then say he was deserving of coach of the year? No you'd find another reason to say he sucks and that 9-7 was really not that good of a finish. And by the way, there were not 30 teams that were LEGITIMATELY in the playoff hunt with three weeks to go. There may have been 30 teams that were mathematically in contention, but that is not the same as saying there were thirty teams that were, with any realistic chance, in the playoff race.

Generally speaking, if your license is revoked, you can't just walk down to the DMV the next day and get another license. There is typically a statutory period during which the person is ineligible to reapply for a driver's license. What that statute is in NY I haven't a clue, but it shouldn't be that hard to find. Usually the period is relatively short for a first offense or first time revocation, but the penalties go up for subsequent violations. And driving with a revoked or suspended license is at least a misdemeanor in NY, so hopefully he won't be trying to drive while his license is revoked. If you want to find out what the exact statutory period is, you could try looking it up on www.findlaw.com or try looking on the NY Government's official website. Usually all of the criminal laws in a jurisdiction can be found on the official government website, and they are organized in a relatively simple table of contents. I would try there if you are truly interested in knowing what the statutory period of Lynch's revocation is.

The starters at DT should be Stroud and McCargo. Williams was in 16 games last year and had only 19 more tackles than McCargo and fewer sacks than McCargo who had far less playing time. Further, a much higher percentage of Williams' tackles were assisted than solo. McCargo had 29 tackles, 20 of which were solo. He is simply a faster player and better tackle than Williams. Williams doesn't make anyone afraid up the middle. Stroud and McCargo will be a dominant duo, with a very solid rotation in Johnson and Williams. Otherwise, I think the Bills have very solid Depth on D and at the RB, WR and QB positions. Some positions on the O-Line have good depth. At others we would have serious problems.

I can see why you would do that. He may have been the steal of the draft. I was impressed with the film I saw of him and he has pretty good hands. He was getting a lot of time at the number three and four receiver spot in the OTAs and the coaches seemed to be really impressed with him. I would not be surprised if Hardy and Johnson were on the field together a lot this season. I think they both have the potential to be excellent receivers, though I can't say I don't agree with you somewhat. Johnson is going to be excellent, but if Hardy has route running problems, Johnson has more of them. That was the knock on him from almost everyone, though most had him going higher than the Seventh Round. Buffalo got a lucky break with the guy. We'll see. Personally, I think that both of them will have some impact on the offense, but I think Hardy, at least for the next couple of seasons will have the bigger role.

Either one of them would be a size upgrade over Fowler. I do, however, think that Bentley would be the answer to finishing the building of the O-Line, assuming that he is fully healed from his knee injury. With almost two seasons where he hasn't played a game, I can only assume that his body is in good shape. Buffalo would be smart to take a chance on him and give Peters that contract extension that he wants. Buffalo is ready to make some waves and Bentley might be what we need to put this team over the top. That said, Datish was pretty good as well, and he is also an upgrade over Fowler in terms of size. Either way, he would be a good depth player in the event that Fowler goes down if the Bills don't want to use him as a starter.

For the Bills only, you can check out www.billsdaily.com and look at their signings and Front Office pages. They have a list of all the moves the team made this offseason. If you are looking for all of the current free agents and where, if anywhere they ended up, you can find that info on www.nfl.com or on the NFL page at www.espn.com ESPN is still good for something.

First, it isn't only about who FINISHED top-25. Teams start and finish differently. The question is how did he do against teams that were ranked when he played them. However to answer your question, he played Penn State, Wisconsin and Illinois. However, when Indiana played Purdue, they were ranked at the time and were top 35 to finish the season. So, I hope that answers your question. And the fact is that Hardy had one of his best career games against Penn State. He was average against Wisconsin and Illinois, and was excellent against Purdue. Again see the stats above for the Purdue and Penn State games. As for Wisconsin and Illinois, those stats are listed below. That being said, the Big-Ten is one of the best football conferences in the NCAA, second only to, maybe, the SEC, and that depends who you talk to. None of the teams in the conference utterly suck. Even Northwestern can stay in games against good teams. So to say that he didn't play anyone in that conference demonstrates that you don't pay much attention to college football, or at least not to the Big 10. And, while you can argue in the opposite, putting up 36 TDs in 33 games is pretty good, considering that he didn't play full seasons in his freshman and sophomore seasons. Sorry, but you are going to have a hard time convincing anyone that the kid didn't play sick football in college. He has the potential to be another Randy Moss. Perhaps you have forgotten, but many of the knocks you cite for why Hardy will suck are the same things that people said about Moss when he came out. He had great leaping ability, but he ran lazy routes and wasn't the fastest guy on the field. How did that turn out? I'd say he transitioned pretty well to the pros. Not saying that Hardy will do as well, but he has a lot of potential and his college performance suggests good things to come. Wisconsin 4-17-0 (one of his worst career games) Illinois 6-42-1 (He was double covered most of the game and caught a TD that kept them in the game to the fourth quarter)

I think that Schouman and Fine are both going to be significant parts of the passing game, Fine moreso as the season progresses. Schouman has good hands and if the Bills are really serious about using the Tight Ends more in the passing game, Fine and Schouman are likely to play a significant role. Both have very sure hands for TEs and they have decent size. Not to mention that there is no way they could possibly be worse at hanging onto the ball than Royal. RR is a heck of a blocker, but he has a serious case of stone hands.

I'm actually looking forward to finally have an offense that might try passing the ball. I think that Trent was beginning to feel in tune with the system and with the changes that Schonert is implementing, I think the offense could be dangerous. Lee Evans should have a great season if Trent and he continue to put in that extra work. I'm looking forward also to seeing how the D-Line plays now that McCargo is going to be a full time starter next to Stroud. With a healthy Poz and Mitchell backing them up, our run D should be much improved and we should be able to get much more pressure on the QB's from the outside with better push in the middle of the line. I think Buffalo is on pace for an excellent season defensively, and with even modest improvement on Offense, we could be looking at 9, 10, or even 11 wins.

I think you about said it when it comes to Hardy. I made the same argument and was told that even though the teams, particularly Penn State, Iowa, and Purdue, two of whom finished in the Top-25 had bad D's so he really didn't do much. I'm sorry, but the guy was pretty impressive in every game he played. Even when he was double teamed and targeted in games, he managed to make plays that kept his team in games. He may have concentration issues, but I think that is something that is relatively easy to work out. The same comments you made about Edwards are true as well. Again, I think that raw statistics don't matter quite as much as overall play. I do think that you can make some statements based on Edwards' stats as compared to many of the best QBs in history, taking other factors into account. From what I saw of Trent and the O last year, I saw a lot of room for improvement, but I wouldn't say that they completely sucked. I thought, based on a lot of factors that they improved. The statistics might not show it, but I thought that the team really began to get better as the season progressed. Everyone sees something different, but I'm with you on this. I think there are more reasons for hope than some other folks.

Now the O-Line only needs two more things and they will be ready to move up to elite status. We need to make sure that Peters gets that big extension, and we need to sign a bigger center. Fowler could be a good solid backup for us, but he is the weak link in terms of getting pushed around and not being able to hold up blocks. He's just not big enough to hold against those big DTs coming through the middle.

As usual, Bill, you summed it up nicely.

Again, and I can't repeat this enough, I didn't think the TE was some great savior quarterback. I thought he played OK for a rookie and that I saw a lot of things in his game that demonstrate to me a lot of potential for improvement. I know that's more I think talk to you, but all I'm saying is that I think the bill is still out on him. He should get some credit for making a solid effort this offseason to get bigger, to work harder and longer with his WRs to help him with those timing patterns, and putting in more time than anyone else getting familiar with the new offensive system. He appeared to be making good strides at the end of OTAs. That being said, I think we can both agree that the jury is out on him. And I will say right here, that if eight weeks go by and we are 3-5 or worse, I probably will begin to look at him with more of a seriously negative eye. He will have had nineteen starts as an NFL QB at that point, more than one season. He won't be a rookie anymore and I will be expecting him to buckle his chinstrap and really start to show something. If he is playing well, I assume that you will take the opposite position. I just think it is too early to dismiss him as a terrible QB. I do think that he had a couple of really crappy games last year. There is no denying that. But, he did have a decent game against the Giants. He threw as many TDs against them as Tom Brady did. (Just a joke, though it is true). Again, while I don't think that TE was fantastic or overpowering in every start, he did make good decisions with the football. I don't want to argue about who's perspective about his play in a certain game is right or wrong, because that is not productive. What I am interested to hear is your alternative at this point. I'm not asking to be an ass, I'm serious. You clearly follow the team and know what's going on, which is a rarity on this board. I'm interested to hear what changes you would implement now, and for next season, within reason and possibility, to make the team better. I have my own ideas, but I would like to hear yours first. As for overvaluing certain pieces, that might be true, but the way I see it, O-Lines improve as they play together. Last year the line was mostly intact, with few injuries, and they did seem to get better as the season progressed into what I would call an above average unit by the end of the season. We were rarely out of a game over the last seven weeks, excluding the game against NE. Then, of course, no one really was able to keep up with NE, except the Giants. I happen to think that we have the right pieces in place and that the D would have been much better last season if it hadn't been for all of the injuries. Fewell, I think, is a good coordinator, though you seem to disagree. This is the make or break season for this coaching staff, so we'll have to wait it out and see how they perform.

I think that you pretty much have it right here. I would argue that we do have a definitive starter at QB going into the season, as the team has clearly stated numerous times that TE is the starter. Yet, I do agree with your statement that neither JP or TE has fully emerged to their full potential. I think JP has lost the chance, but if TE is terrible, he could get another shot. I think that DE is the weakest link on D, and I hope that Ellis can really come in and do well as a rookie, otherwise, I expect about 8 more sacks between the four rotational guys and that is all. Considering how low their total was last year, I expect this to be a moderate and attainable increase due to Stroud's influence. Otherwise, I think you have it about right.

I'm not saying that the Bills have always made good decisions. But, I don't know how this FO's decision making is going to work out. The TD years were a joke, and the players that were brought in at that time have almost all disappeared and turned out to be failures for the organization. There is no arguing with that. Yet, the players that have come in since Levy/Brandon have come in don't have that same feeling. Whitner, Lynch, Poz (though clearly he has a lot to prove), even McCargo though we disagree here, seem to be the type of players that could really help this team. I know that you will point out that I said SEEM, but you have to admit they are of a different mold than the type of players that TD was bringing in, and they have a much better work ethic. The new FO has made much smarter moves since TD was ousted. They brought in a lot more talent on the O-Line. Again, you may disagree, but think how bad the line was before Dockery and Walker got here. They made a good, if not somewhat lucky move with Peters going to LT. This year they brought in a very good DT to help shore up the rotation. I don't know that Stroud will be as good as he was three years ago, but even if he is above average, that requires more attention by O-Lines, which should help everyone around him. They brought in Mitchell who is a solid upgrade at linebacker, adding much needed run stopping size, speed and experience to a very young corps. Whitner has been very good as a safety. He doesn't have a ton of picks, but he has a lot of tackles and is seemingly involved in some way on every play. Lynch IS an impact player. Ko Simpson is also a good player who has the potential again to be very good. We had a long time with TD to evaluate whether his decisions would pan out and when they turned out rotten, he was fired. And rightly so. If the Bills are better this season, i.e., they are in every game, win or lose, and keep things interesting, and the players improve, I would have to say that the team is going in the right direction. I don't expect them to go 12-4, but I would not be surprised at all if they were to win 10 games. I also wouldn't be surprised if they win 6. I just don't know at this point. You and I clearly have differing opinions about how well a player is going to do at certain positions. I don't think that Eli Manning was that good in his second season either. If he had been, people wouldn't have been calling for his head. He racked up a lot of meaningless TDs late in lost cause games that padded those stats. Much like you claim Trent did this season. And here are a list of Rookie QB stats for "the greats" of now and the past to show that in terms of numbers Trent is on about the same boat. TRENT EDWARDS 10 Games 1630-7-8 Eli Manning 9 Games 1043-6-9 Matt Hasselback (With Seattle) 13 Games 2023-7-8 John Elway 11 Games 1663-7-14 Joe Montana (1980) 15 Games 1795-15-9 Joe Ferguson 14 Games 939-4-10 Troy Aikman 11 Games 1749-9-18 Joe Namath 13 Games 2220-18-15 Donovan McNabb 11 Games 948-8-7 Steve McNair (1997) 16 Games 2665-14-13 Steve Young (1986) 14 Games 2282-8-13 Joe Theisman (1978) 16 Games 2593-13-18 Dan Fouts 10 games 1126-6-13 Phil Simms 12 Games 1743-13-14 Brett Favre 15 games 3227-18-13 http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/qbindex.htm All statistics came from the above website. All I'm trying to say here is that most rookie QBs struggle, even the good ones, and do so in a fashion similar to what we saw with Trent. I'M NOT SAYING TRENT WILL BE AS GOOD AS ANY OF THESE OTHER PLAYERS. And consider that many of these greats had a year to sit on the bench and learn before getting thrown in the fire. That makes a difference. The fact is, I'm only saying that one should not rush to judgment on a QB because he had a bad rookie season. In fact some of these players had a bad year two as well. For example, Steve Young had two horrible seasons with Tampa before they traded him to the Niners, where he went on to win the Super Bowl. So, while Edwards wasn't spectacular and didn't sling 26 TDs, that is far from sucking. He was competent out there and made a lot of strides. You may argue that he didn't, but that is what it is. I watched those games and saw what I recognized as a lot of maturity and ability in the guy. Let's just give this team a chance to perform as a unit before rushing to judgment.

I hope a lot of people here read that post too. I did. I particularly liked the part where Vic explains that most of the NFL community sees the Bills as an up and coming team with the potential to be very good this year, contrary to what the Marshall Faulk's and some people on this board seem to think. I was really impressed by Trent's comments over the past two weeks and about the offensive changes they are making this offseason. I see Trent taking the time to stick around after practice to work on routes with his receivers, going to Florida to work specifically with Lee Evans, and to Arizona to work with Robert Royal. I NEVER once heard of a QB on the Bills squad doing this since Jim Kelly in the early and mid-90's. That type of talk the talk AND walk the walk attitude is what we have been missing for a long time. As for comments about Trent's arm, anyone who comments that he throws a horrible long ball, wasn't watching any games last season. Trent actually threw a very good and technically sound long ball in a number of games last season. And the fact that two of the Bills' last three games were played in conditions where the winds were so high that any pass over six yards was hitting nothing but wind and turf apparently doesn't factor into the thought process. Kelly took a couple of years to get used to the winds at then Rich Stadium, as does any passer. IIRC even when the weather was good, too many of JP's passes were hitting the ground before they got to wide open receivers. I would rather have a guy with an arm that is accurate at short and intermediate distance, but can throw the long ball when required, than a guy with a cannon who is extremely inaccurate (a la Michael Vick and JP Losman). I supported Losman, I bought his jersey, I cheered for him long after many gave up and wanted Edwards. I can't give him another shot. He said it himself. Last year at Jacksonville was his make or break game and his ship broke in half and sank like the Titanic. When his "two minute leadership" was most needed and we were down six in the fourth, he promptly walked up to the line threw a HORRIBLE pass that was picked off and lost us the game. Sorry, but he had his chance. He had parts of four seasons to show that he could get the job done. In thirty two starts he won TEN games. That is abysmal even for a guy who is as green as some people claim. I wanted him to be good too. Everyone here did. But like almost every other TD prospect, he was a poor selection.