Dr. K

When did Easley fumble in a pre-season game? I don't remember that. I remember him catching pretty much everything thrown at him, including a touchdown. Are you talking about in practice, not in games? I wish we had the video of these games. Otherwise it's just you and me talking.

I agree with you --I don't remember Easley dropping passes. I remember Ruvell Martin dropping just about everything thrown to him.

That was transparent, bro. You got to be more clever.

I'm glad we've got him as DC and I expect him to do well. But I also think he's made some questionable talent calls. For example, I believe it was Wanny who said (while coaching the Bears in the mid-1990s), when the Bills drafted Eric Moulds, that he would not want Moulds on his team at any price.

I like Fitz and want him to succeed. I do keep remembering those two interceptions he threw against the Giants (this was before he had the rib injury). In both cases he was throwing to his left down the sideline; in both cases the receiver was open, in both cases he underthrew the ball and was intercepted. I don't think his feet were planted properly on those throws. It cost us the game, I think. Likewise the underthrown ball in the fourth quarter against the Bears the previous season (though I believe that one was to the right). So I think there are mechanical issues. If he can correct such errors it will make a huge difference.

This comes up over and over again every season. It's simple math--the Pats don't have to play themselves, so that takes two games off their schedule against a team that went 13-3. Instead, they play the Bills, a team that went 6-10, twice. Whereas the reverse is true for the Bills--they play the Pats, who were 13-3, instead of themselves at 6-10. That's all there is to it. No conspiracy, just math.

NC State's semester is over. Graduation was May 12.

I agree with this. Trying to change the habits of a lifetime can at first really screw up a performer even if he needs to do it in order to ultimately get better. The comparison I had in mind is, believe it or not, the great violinist Yehudi Menuhin. He was a natural prodigy, playing with symphony orchestras when he was seven years old. He had a lot of different teachers. Then, when he was in his thirties, he realized that the way he was playing was technically incorrect. Here's a quote from Wikipedia: "After building early success on richly romantic and tonally opulent performances, he experienced considerable physical and artistic difficulties caused by overwork during the war as well as unfocused and unstructured early training (reportedly he said "I watched myself on film and realized that for 30 years I'd been holding the bow wrong")" He tried to fix this and for a time his playing fell apart. It took him several years to incorporate what he learned and get back to playing as well and better than he did originally. He is now considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century.

me too

It's really weird, since you and I have had some real disagreements, but I also think Martin is the best choice (in a situation where there is no perfect one). And I have a feeling Nix likes him best, too.

I teach at NC State University. Don't measure his height. Just draft Russell Wilson. Do it. Second round if necessary, third if you want to take a chance he'll still be there.

Tipster, I like your post a lot. I am another old timer (saw my first game in 1966) who feels much the way you do. I think the talent level on this team is growing steadily, They are a young team, and the kind of players they are, in terms of their personalities and willingness to work as a team, gives me a lot to look forward to. I think this is going to be a motivated and focused team at the beginning of next season. I think they will surprise as they did at the start of last season, but stay strong through the year.

Please say it isn't so.

It may surprise you to hear this coming from me, but I think this is a fair assessment. I worry about the seeming fragility of Wood and Bell.

Disgust

I don't remember that. I remember him looking great in the only extended use he got. Are you thinking of Ruvell Martin, who couldn't catch a cold?

And yet here you are waving your whiffle bat around in the air.

minus 2

+1. This.

If the Bills let Stevie walk, then despite being a fan for MORE THAN FORTY YEARS I am going to have a hard time caring about anything they do. I don't think he's a great receiver (yet) or ever a very smart one (he does lots of stupid things), but letting guys like him go is a cast iron indication that they will never get seriously better. I think I need a break from this silly team.

This sure does remind me of a Rob Johnson-Kevin Kolb situation.

These are exactly my sentiments. Gaily was 100% right to bench him. But bring him back next year.

Sign him and bring him back, but give him a brain transplant. He's a well-meaning idiot.

I think they have moved in the right direction. But this off-season and draft are going to be crucial on deciding whether they continue. We can argue about the coaching and strategies, but the fact is they need more depth and better starters. If they don't draft well and make at least a few credible moves in free agency, then whatever progress they have made means little. I think it's all about personnel evaluation and roster building. After that, it's development of players and coaching. I think they ahve shown signs of improvement in all of these areas, but I am not totally convinced yet.

If the Bills don't re-sign him it will pretty much make me give up hope on their being a first-class franchise. Stevie is exactly the kind of player you need to keep. Yes, he could be better, yes tey could use a reliable deep threat on the other side, but they've developed him, he has considerable value, and letting him go only creates another hole to fill when they have serious holes already and not enough depth. In the current NFL, every team is going to lose significant players to injury every season. It's not bad luck or bad training, it's the nature of the game today. The Bills need to keep their better-than-average players and seek more. If they can't keep Stevie, then it's a sign they are not a serious team.