finn

The OP nailed it for me. It's just hard to find the optimism. Mine was guarded because I thought/think Rex Ryan is an ass, but the defense was top notch, and we had some exciting new players on offense. What is so discouraging is the team going backwards on defense. From number four in yards and number one in sacks to...well, whatever they are. And the penalties. You just lose your steam. But I think most of us will get it back eventually, especially if they beat the Pats*.

How about Bridgewater or Carr? Yes, it's hindsight, but Whaley gave up two picks for Watkins when all he had was Manuel and his own delusions.

Thanks for the tip. I'll make good use of it.

Having Incognito on his left has to help, but with a struggling rookie on his other side... You have to give him credit, if PFF is right.

And when Koolaid drinkers turn out to be wrong, they usually sneer sarcastically. Check out your posts, man, Nothing but scorn for anyone who dares to question those all-knowing gods Ryan, Whaley, Marrone, Nix, Jauron, etc. etc. Fine, be optimistic, most of us are. But keep your wit to yourself, especially when the posters you sneer at turn out to be right, again and again.

I'm with everyone pointing out there's plenty of blame to go around. But, damn, how about an apology from those posters who flamed anyone who dared predict--correctly--that EJ would be ordinary or worse? The jury is in: the man is no more than a backup. What is up with you Kool Aid drinkers, you people who troll anyone who doesn't radiate eternal sunshine about the Bills? Is your own self esteem so low? Here's some cold water: EJ WAS a waste of a first-round pick, ok? And get used to this idea: Rex Ryan is a incompetent fool, and he will be fired after wasting still another two years of our time.

Yogi Berra said, "If you come to a fork in the road, take it." The Bills are at a fork. The Bills teams over the past 15 years would lose this game; the playoff versions would win. Not merely because of win percentage but because it's a gut-check game: Can the Bills play with the big boys? I love the Bills and want them badly to win. I think they have the talent to win. But I think Rex Ryan is taking them in the wrong direction. Bengals 30-14. I hope I'm wrong. I want to enjoy a season for a change.

Trying is not doing. I give him credit for his successes; I don't find excuses for his failures.

When I mentioned not being entirely sold on Whaley's performance as GM, several posters here wondered why I was skeptical (I did praise him for his additions this off season). Exhibit A is the right side of the offensive line. Exhibit B is shipping off Cassel, FredX and Bryce Brown for a box of tape and a jockstrap. He needs to put down the Red Bull. Or put his frantic energy into finding us some o-linemen.

Here's what's wrong: he went public. Why? Because he's frustrated, vain and he's decided to indulge himself while telling the world, "Hey, it's not me! It's the coaches and quarterbacks! I'm just as good as Odell and those guys, really!" He's putting his ego before the team, and it sucks. Shut up, Watkins, and play the game. It's not all about you, jerk. That's all we need, a prima donna.

He's paid big (huge) bucks for a reason. His teaching may not pay immediate dividends in that it often takes time for learning to sink in, but there's a reason teams hire coaches with his credentials as position coaches and not, say, whoever his assistants are who are making do in his absence. It's a good point to bring up, though. One could argue his return is more important to the long-term (still this season) success of the team than even Sammy and Shady. (In fact, you got to wonder about Shady's production, but that's a topic for another thread.)

I haven't been a big fan of Whaley, but I'm impressed by what he's done this past year. Some of the best-performing players on the roster were added this off-season. Our best wide receiver is Harvins; the best cornerback is Darby; the best offensive lineman is Incognito; the best running back is Karlos Williams; our best tight end is Clay; and of course the best quarterback is Taylor. All of them are not only the best at their position on the Bills; they rank among the best in the league. That's pretty good shooting!

This. You get people dismissing critics with "it's just one game," but it's not. It's 15 years' worth of these games.

Put Kiko on him, the best pass-coverage LB in the league. Oh, wait...

That would be "I couldn't care less." (-;

"I hope I never have the misfortune of meeting you"? "Negative" doesn't mean "Troll," buddy. BPA raises a legitimate point, and you reply by going personal.

Actually, I welcome a thread where we don't have to be a Pollyanna or include endless caveats to a pessimistic (read: realistic) take on the Bills. Posters who dare to disagree with the sunshine crowd are flamed mercilessly, and only a small percentage of posters engage the substance of their comments. I'm not referring to the equally mindless snark ("EJ sucks!") but thoughtful dissents, like saying that the hiring of Marrone was a mistake, which everyone agrees with now. Funny psychology. What's the threat?

Keith Rivers? Chris Williams? He's had some hits--and some big whiffs.

One of the most ignorant comments I've seen on this forum, and that's saying something.

This is where I was hoping Whaley would show some imagination. Offer him the money he would have earned as a first rounder, maybe the money he would have earned with the 20th pick, on the condition that everything works out legally, of course. Everyone wins. Still could do it.

I know you're being sarcastic, but La'el Collins does have future HOF talent, at least potentially, and they could have taken a flier on him rather than draft training camp fodder. Low risk, very very high reward.

My thoughts exactly. I don't understand why they feel they don't need quality people against the monsters at defensive tackle, even after seeing Colin Brown, Legursky, Richardson and Urbick struggle there. Our quarterbacks just aren't good enough to cover for them--it needs to be the other way around, in fact. So you have extraordinary receivers and running backs but an interior line that is likely to be overwhelmed--again. Whaley seems content with mediocrity at a position that is becoming increasingly critical in the game. Yes, Incognito might work out, and one of the young guys might develop. But he's not leaving WR or RB or the defense to chance, only the one position (other than qb) that has been given the Bills the most trouble for three years running.

Why draft a guard? Who needs them against the best d-tackles in the league in our division? You can always get a guard in the seventh round.

A tad worried? Yes, there is plenty of reason to be optimistic, as people have explained here, but going into the draft we have the same personnel at OL as last year, except Incognito, who even the hard-core Pollyannas will admit is a question mark. We have two solid players now. Two.

Love, hate...I mean, think about what that means. Posters here are just channeling their hopes and frustrations, right? We're not being paid to make decisions, so we can be self indulgent and reckless as we want to be. Whaley probably "loves" and "detests" EJ every bit as much as any of us; he just doesn't get to publicly vent his emotions. So I wouldn't be get so bent out of shape at the hyperbolic posters. They may seem like empty-headed Pollyannas or gloom-and-doom naysayers, but they want the Bills to win as much as anyone or they wouldn't be here. Incidentally, there's a personality component to this, too: some people feel more comfortable dwelling on the negative because they instinctively believe it makes a positive outcome more likely, while others see any criticism at all as a sign of disloyalty. In short, don't posts so personally.