Rock'em Sock'em

Good move. Still a Bill, Parrish will be on the trading block in the offseason, and maybe he'll fetch a 5th or 6th. If the Bills don't trade Roscoe, he'll battle for a roster spot next year.

Actually, the Bills pass defense is #1 in yards per attempt (5.5) and completion percentage (51.2), so you can't really argue that teams don't need to pass and that's the only reason they are 2nd in yards against. It's more like their scheme is good against the pass and bad against the run. Or perhaps their smallish players are good against the pass and bad against the run. Either way the pass defense has been impressive. The Bills are 3rd (1st in the AFC) with 10 INTs. Byrd leads the AFC with 3 picks. Being able to run and stop the run is a better formula. But at least the defense is doing something good.

In Trent's defense, he had 150 passing yards compared to Anderson's 23. That being said, Trent seems to miss on the long pass opportunities (both Owens and Evans open). He also does not find WR's open 15 yards in the middle of the field. The 7 yard TE hitch and 7 yard RB circle route dump offs are way better than the zero yard sideline dump offs that are now being blanketted by the defenses. Bottom line here is that Trent should get another 6 games to prove that he's the long term answer (or not). The defense played great and that side of the ball seems pretty solid. I loved to see all of the 5-3 and 4-4 fronts and all of the run blitzes.

Since SanFran basically lost a year with Crabtree unsigned, they should demand a 6th year in the contact for the same signing bonus and overall contract worth. Or just the same five year contract ... that starts July 2010.

The Bills spend more time on defense than offense when on the field, so they should keep more players and better depth on defense. There's more chance of injury just due to play time.

1.) Trent Edwards (2007, 3rd round) 2.) Mitchell (2008 FA) 3.) Stroud (2008 Trade) 4.) Walker (2007 FA) 5.) Lynch (arguably) 6.) Jackson (2006 FA) 7.) Scott (2007 FA) 8.) Butler (2006, 5th round) I can't really think of any others that have exceeded expectations. A couple of those are borderline "exceeders". There are a couple 2009 draft picks exceeding expectations so far (Wood, Lankster, Harris), but too eaerly to tell on the 2009 class.

I just watched the network broadcast on DVR. Although Scott was announced coming out of the tunnel at the game, Ko Simpson was announced as the starter on TV. On TV, on first and second down, it wasn't clear who was out there. But on 3rd down, Scott was in the picture. Scott also started on the 2nd series of defense. With the new DBs in town, Ko is on the bubble this year.

Scott was announced the starter before the game but left with a knee injury. I too was a little surprised to see Ko out there late in the game.

Fast, big, seems to catch everything. In the two practices I've seen or pre-season, I don't recall a single pass that was thrown his way and wasn't caught. A few diving catches in there as well.

Thorner7 - We post about the same two plays at the same exact time. Weird.

Nic Harris looks to be a player. I loved the play (2nd quarter?) where the QB rolled right and threatended to either run or dump off to the TE. Harris leveled the TE from behind and then tackled the QB for no gain. Incidentally, Chicago tried the same play in the fourth quarter with Harris defending, but that time the TE kept his balance and scored a TD. Harris generally run bltized well and came close to making a few plays in the backfield. It's obvious to me Harris has the size and speed for the job. He looked like a starter out there.

1.) No significant injuries 2.) Generate pass rush with base defense 3.) Win the 1-on-1 battles on the offensive line

I guess there's no use even playing those games then. But just for fun, and the minute chance that lightning strikes 10 or 12 times this season, I say let's see what happens.

Don't forget Matt Estrella vs Video guy from NFL films

It's possible that Byrd is here longer than the coaching staff. But I really don't mind the coaching that much. It's certainly not top 5 in the NFL, but IMO it's not bottom 5 either. The weak, smallish, and injury prone players on defense bothered me for DJ's first couple years. But the D seemed better with Stroud in the middle last year. The lack of a NFL caliber starting QB bothered me for DJ's first couple years, but Edwards is now in his 3rd year, and looks steady most of the time when he's able to play. The lack of a pass rush bothers me. That's on the coaches due to lack of effective schemes. Bottom line for me is although there are 5-10 coaches that I'd rather have, our coaching has generally improved year over year. If the Bills can fix the pass rush, Byrd has the potential to become a very good playmaker.

...Or just be better than Carolina's 2010 first round pick, as that was a decent option at the time. (Carolina traded up to get Brown.) Why all the DJ hate? DJ doesn't have complete say on draft picks. Wasn't it Fewell who had the family connection with this kid? Anyway, now that he's a Bill, let's hope he becomes our version of Ed Reed.

Vick is a nice player, but I'd rather face the Patriots with Vick taking 5 or 6 snaps, rather than Brady taking all of them.

I was at camp on Sunday afternoon, and I was pleasantly surprised with how Ryan Fitzpatrick looked, albeit without full pads. Great velocity on the over the middle throws. Decent touch on the long passes. Hamdan looked very bad and could easily be cut to open a roster spot for Vick if needed.

I think Reed is a good blocker because of plays like this: some great blocking

I think the offense has improved over the last couple years. The last slant I remember was in 2009 against Cleveland when it bounced off of Evans and was returned for a TD. So that pattern is in the playbook. I'm sure it was called often. I love when Trent checks down because it a.) avoids a sack, and b.) our RBs are very good catching the ball and getting yards on those plays. We need a better TE and more experienced QB before you see the seam routes used often again. Both the play calling and the variations in formations, motion, and blocking schemes have been notably better since Jauron and his staff took over. And they have improved slightly from year to year. I know many may not share that opinion. We'll see how it all comes together this year with an added playmaker at WR and a brand new line. I'd expect a small step backwards in pass protection (because of the line changes) but maybe a surprise step forwards in running due to more advanced blocking schemes that they may be able to pull off.

If Hardy ends up on injured reserve, we can keep keep the six others. (Evans, Owens, Reed, Parish, Johnson, Jenkins). If Hardy is on the roster, we'll need to cut one or even two of those six. I say if the Bills can't get a 5th or higher, let those six battle it out in pre-season and keep the best 5 (plus Hardy).

Heard on WGR a couple weeks back that is was about $6M, and the victom's family wanted to just put the situation behind them.

@Kansas City, 2008

June 1st is purely a contract date now. Some players have a roster bonus due June 1, which enables them some time to sign on with another team. A few years back, there was a rule that some or all of the cap-deferred signing bonuses could be deferred into next year if the player was cut on/after June 1st. Now, that rule no longer exists and the cap hit is always this year.

Nice highlight video. Check out the devastating block by Josh Reed at the point of attack. He should be back in the slot for us this year.