Dr. K

Michael Jordan got huge numbers of calls or non-calls throughout his career. He won one playoff game against the Utah Jazz by pushing off his defender in order to get off his jump shot. It's not some conspiracy by the refs and the NFL. It's that Tom Brady, with his huge good-guy reputation, was the QB. "WAS." Now that his rep is tarnished, I do wonder if he will get those automatic calls and non-calls.

Spiller will outgain McCoy this year.

We got it. Thanks. No need to REPEAT IT UNTIL OUR EARS BLEED.

To me the most interesting thing at this point is what must be going on in EJ's mind. I cannot imagine a player this early in his career having more reason to want to succeed, if only to stick it in the face of the press and fans who have been writing his obituary since they day he was drafted. It's only gotten worse this off-season. Granted, there are reasons so many people discount the bare possibility he could succeed, but an awful lot of these press reports are pure speculation and piling on based on slim or no evidence. If I were him I would delight in the prospect of coming out of the gate on fire and proving them wrong. He has to keep his mouth shut and show it with his play, of course, but his motivation must be sky high. I'll be very interested to see how he is in camp, and even more in the pre-season games. I do not think he is going to be anywhere near the hesitant player we saw last season. He's got no reason to play it close to the vest and every incentive to put it all out there.

This

Thank god somebody is saying this. People are discounting the first rate job Schwartz did with the defense, which vastly imporved the run defense (the Bills were one of the worst in the league against the run under Pettine) without giving up pressure on the quarterback. Pettine was running Ryan's defense with all the exotic blitzes. I am not confident that the defense will be as good this year.

Jane studies apes, not monkeys.

I agree he will be in the HoF and deserves it, but this will cast a shadow over his career. Not so much the deflation thing as his lying about it or leaving the guys he had doing the dirty work for him to hang out to dry. It's not likely they came up with this "let's deflate the balls for Tom" idea ll by themselves. Their careers in the NFL are likely over.

I'm paranoid about something happening to McCoy for the Bills. The guy's got some miles on him.

I just have the feeling that there is enough potential in the players already on the team to make a decent to much better than decent O-line with the proper coaching, schemes, and play calling. Remember, essentially these same guys performed much better two and three years ago than then did last year, and they have drafted four o-linemen in the last two drafts in addition to picking up some free agents. I think it's too soon to conclude that all of these guys just can't play.

Always liked Carrington. Glad to have him back on the team.

+1

I agree with this. I do not like the team adding increasing numbers of players with character issues--severe ones. You can dismiss or mock this concern, but these are some bad actors.

I remember when I was fourteen or fifteen riding my bike to the motor inn on Mile Strip Road between McKinley Parkway and South Park (this was long before the Ralph was constructed) to watch the Bills practice in training camp on a football field behind the motel. Maybe a dozen fans, a few coaches, and the players. The players lived in the motel and walked out to the field passing among the fans. I remember Harry Jacobs wore a golf hat when he came out for stretching before practice. Everything was a lot simpler then. It seems like a million years ago. It WAS a million years ago.

This is what I really wanted to have happen--keep Schwartz as HC, and find a good OC to go with him. Don't change the defense up yet again. And I've never been as impressed with Rex as most of the fans here seem to be. I don't get the "allure" of his personality.

I see more splash than substance. I would have preferred they keep Kiko and Spiller, spend the cap room on the o-line and a first rate tight end, and locking in the defensive stars like Dareus, keeping Searcy. I'm okay with both QB acquisitions. The Harvin move is more flash even though he has not performed well recently and has been a problem child on other teams. The Bills, with the exception of running back, were lucky on injuries last season. A few key injuries--such as at linebacker--and this defense is not going to look so strong. It seems like an off season of pursuing headlines that do not necessarily translate into a better team on the field. So they start out free agency needing a tight end and OL help, and they end up letting their best tight end go with no replacement and still no help on the O line. Got it.

I'm of the opinion that this defense will not rank as high under Rex as it did under Schwartz.

I have pretty much hated all the moves the Bills have made since Marone left. I had not much use for Maron, but I hated the Rex hire. Hate this trade. Right now I am in "show me" mode. I have been a ver patient fan but I have no belief in this team right now.

This is my opinion as well.

I wish.

Much as I hate it, the Pats will win going away. The Seahawks used up all their luck getting into this game. They will get basted by the Pats, who will be looking to show that they don't need to cheat to win. The Pats will win by three touchdowns.

Yep. That's the earmark of Bills fans. Dump the only runner on the team who can break a run for more than ten yards. Dump the runner who AVERAGED six yards per carry a couple of years ago, the last time they had an OC who did not have his head up his fundament, because "we're not running that system." Yep. Who needs those 75-yard runs? Let's play someone who consistently will get us three yards per carry between the tackles, because that's really gonna make this offense hum.

Yes it will. Much as it makes me sick to say it, Patriots win going away.

The Patriots will win this easily. The only reason Seattle is in the Super Bowl is because or a complete collapse by the Packers, plus more lucky breaks in the last five minutes of the game than you are going to see in the next decade. The onside kick? That two-point conversion? The Pats defensive backs are better than the Packers'. Richard Sherman is crippled. Russell Wilson does not have another sack of horseshoes in his locker.

This.