Cash

Yep. Waiver-wire pickups. I'll give you Merriman, though, because they "re"-signed him to a contract. For the record, Barnett was not offered a contract by his previous team. Legit free-agent signing, though. All waiver-wire pickups or cut by their previous teams. On second thought, I'm not sure about Martin. But I'd be shocked if the Dolphins had offered him a contract when we signed him. Scott was acquired under Jauron. Did he sign a recent extension that I missed? Both UFAs, neither offered a contract by their previous teams, although the Jets did theoretically want Smith back. I think we all get that "building through the draft" doesn't mean you literally never acquire a player any other way. I mean, the numbers don't work. You usually get 7 or 8 draft picks a year, and the roster is 53. So yes, some players must be acquired through free agency. But minimum-salary guys and waiver pickups (except Merriman) don't really count. They're like the undrafted free agents of free agency. Yes, occasionally you'll find a Jason Peters, but most of them are just warm bodies. Here's my point: Of the players you listed, how many of them are good? How many are starting because they are average or better NFL starters, and how many are starting by default? I count 5 starters, including Brad Smith. Maybe I should give you Andra' Davis as well, so that's 6. But that's it. No one else can be considered a "significant" free agent acquisition. John McCargo wasn't a significant free agent acquisition for the Bucs, and Mansfield Wrotto isn't a significant free agent acquisition for the Bills. I don't care if Urbik or Rinehart wind up as starters, unless they wind up as good starters. Someone has to start at every postiion, whether you have anyone good at that position or not.

That's because he was benched. (In only one game so far.) Had Gailey done the more common preseason move of starting Jackson, but taking him out after a few plays so that Spiller could get a lot of time with the 1s, I doubt Jackson would've been upset. But that's not what the Bills did. They benched Jackson in favor of Spiller, and that's specifically why Fred Jackson is upset. And despite the vast gulf between their current abilities as NFL RBs, Gailey praised Spiller's performance in the Denver game, and currently says that they're both #1 backs, and that Jackson is "slightly ahead." We're reading between the lines a bit, and thinking that it looks like either Gailey or someone above him wants Spiller to start, and is probably going to make that happen. Both Jackson and Levitre expressed confusion over a lack of clear communication from the coaching staff. Not a good sign. Plus, haven't all the Gailey boosters been talking up what a great culture he's instilling in the team, and how that leads to winning, etc.? I don't know about that. What kind of message does it send when Fred Jackson works hard and performs well, only to be benched for a #1 pick who continues to underperform? Now, if it winds up only being 1 preseason game that he gets benched for, Gailey can do some damage control, and probably everything will be fine. But if Spiller starts the regular season opener, what message does that send to the rest of the team?

Faster does not equal more talented. Fred is the more talented back.

GMs usually get at least 2 coaches before they're fired. So after Gailey is fired, Nix's next hire would have to fail for Nix to get fired. That should be several more years, especially if Ralph takes the same path he did with Jauron (firing him a year too late). I'd say at minimum, Nix has 4 more years on the job, assuming he's able to fill it. I'm no actuary, but my rough guess is that the percentages would say that Nix is the last GM Ralph will employ. Just curious, which offseason are you not counting, this one or last one?

Great post Trooth! I needed some levity after last night.

+1

1.) I'm pretty sure that every blocking scheme in the NFL is designed to have both DEs be touched at some point on a 4-man rush. So regardless of the schemes, there were at least a few breakdowns tonight. 2.) No one's line got to gel in the offseason. They haven't all looked bad. Bell looked the worst tonight, and he's been a starter the last 2 years. Now, they won't always play that bad, and not every RE/ROLB is as good as Dumervil, but it's not like our line were world-beaters last year. If Bell and the other young guys are going to get better, it better start showing up in games at some point. 3.) "I can see that train coming at me, and I'm standing on the tracks, but it's a long ways off. I'll just wait until it gets here before I worry." Luckily, this is just football, not life or death. It's looking like another brutal year so far, though. I'm just saying maybe don't throw down any bets on the over for the Bills this year.

He's still young. Lot of raw physical talent there. Probably won't put it together this year, but it's not crazy to think he might be decent as soon as 2012. People used to think Eric Moulds was a bust and Stevie Johnson should be cut. WR is not like RB. It's very rare that a rookie makes an impact. Some WRs bust out in their 2nd year, but the most common is the 3rd-year breakout. Easley is functionally still a rookie right now, since he basically missed all of last season. And he looks like a rookie. But let's not get the torches out just yet, please. He's the only WR on the roster with the physical tools to even remotely replace Lee Evans, and his teammates spoke very highly of him at Camp Fitz in the offseason. I don't care how bad he looks right now, I'd prefer to keep a guy with his youth/upside over any amount of hardworking schlubs like Huggins or Hubbard or Roosevelt.

I wish I had more hands. So I could give the Bills four thumbs down!

No one cares about the W-L record in pre-season. But it does matter how the starters perform. They looked abjectly horrible tonight. Very reminiscent of last year, when the pre season was a great predictor of the regular season. There's no reason to think that these same players are going to start winning their individual battles once the regular season starts.

Our O looks a lot better since Denver put the third string in. Maybe that's Gailey's plan - play against third stringers?

Nice back shoulder throw by Thiggy for the TD. I like him as a backup QB.

And got WIDE OPEN, too! I was shocked.

At least the uniforms look good.

This is turning into a Trent Edwards-style offense. I.e., it's a shock when we complete a downfield pass to a WR.

Didn't we hear the same "it's just preseason" nonsense last year? How'd that work out? Guys, if your hopes are still up, this season is going to be very disappointing for you.

I would like to see Ralph and/or Nix answer for the combo of pathetic talent, cheapo coaches, and having the fifth-most cap space. It's kind of insulting. I think Bob Matthews is right when he says that the Bills think we should be happy just to have an NFL team, and not expect to see any real winning. Good luck to Donald Jones and Johnny White.

True, plus they're book-ended by commercials. All the more reason to take a leak after a TD.

I think Troup has been pushed back on every run play so far.

Yes, but remember that in the real world, Luck is entering his senior year at Stanford. It's only in the bizarro world of college athletics that he was a sophomore last year. He has 1 year left to get his degree in architecture. I thought my man McGee was gonna take that to the house. Not sure if he stumbled towards the end, or if he was gassed from playing CB the entire drive, or if he's truly lost a step. But no matter what, he's our only DB that didn't get lit up in the first half. I don't think I'll feel ashamed if I keep rocking his jersey this year. Ugh. I couldn't stand all the comments (both from fans and Bills employees) worrying about the O-line "depth." HOW ABOUT THE STARTERS, NUMBNUTS?! Just because Demetrius Bell is a lot better than his backup, that doesn't mean he's anywhere near adequate as a starting LT. The O in general looks really putrid. Remember that we finished 28th in scoring last year, and basically switched out Lee Evans for Brad Smith. Right now, I expect another bottom 5 offense this year. I think the D has maybe gone from last year's historically bad to just regular bad this year. So that's a step in the right direction.

Verne Lundquist just quoted Wheel of Fish. The only thing not disappointing about this game is the vodka.

That Evans trade is looking better and better.

Wow, our D was awesome on that TD. 4 man rush, no man coverage on the RB, but also no one playing zone anywhere on the sideline. Torbor started in a middle zone, reacted to the play, but couldn't get over in time to do anything about it. That defensive call was basically designed to let a swing pass go for a huge gain. But with only a 4 man rush. How ridiculous.

Early thoughts: -Orton is not bad. You could do a lot worse at QB. -Chandler was WIDE OPEN on that 3rd down blitz that almost got picked. Had about 20 yards between him and the safety, and only that safety to beat for the TD. Fitz could have given him a little touch pass for an easy first down. -I've seen Bell make exactly 1 block in the 4 plays I've focused on him. I'm quite concerned about the O this year. -As a guy who drafted Fred Jackson today, I'm a bit concerned how much Spiller is on the field with the ones. Not very concerned. -I like Denver's play by play guy. -Barnett looks pretty good. Definitely faster than Poz and better in coverage. Did miss a tackle already. Plus he made a tackle 5 yards downfield, so I guess he sucks. But screw it, I like him. -Love Dareus & KW! Think they look better as tackles in the 4 man line. Nice push up the middle, but no one's done anything around the edge. Unless you count Kelsay sort of beating his man, but falling down in the process. Orton was not pressured in any way, so I don't count it. -HATE the 3 man line on pass downs. The D has more talent this year, but I think the coaching still stinks. And I don't care how good Batten is in practice - can we please get Arthur Moats back on the edge? -For that guy who posted that thread comparing Fitz to Rich Gannon, I think the dream might be dead. I still like Fitz, but he is who we thought he was. Not the best QB on the field tonight. -Levitre did a great job on that middle screen to Chandler on the first drive. Only play I focused on him. -Our D is basically getting carved up by Orton. If not for some bad drops and flukey penalties, they might have a TD on every drive.

I think it's important to distinguish between pessimism and negativity. not all negativity seems from pessimism. Some of it is reluctant rationality. I prefer to be hopeful and have high expectations when it comes to the Bills, but I can't unless the Bills give me some solid reasons to expect success. There haven't been many lately, which is why I've been mostly pretty negative for a while. The "pessimism" will turn to "optimism" when the team starts winning. That's it. A decade of history has shown that the Bills stink, and only actual success can change that.