KOKBILLS

Outside of losing Manuel I'm not sure there was a single player the Bills could least afford to lose for any stretch of time...Just lost our top player from arguably the position of least depth...This is about as bad as news can get outside of Gilmore being gone for the season... I understand injuries happen all over the NFL...But good grief this team is due for a break and they continuously get none...I'm shaking my head and staring into space right now...I can't believe the luck of this team...If it was not for bad, they would have none at all...

It can do no harm...But it's pretty much established what Brad Smith can do as an NFL QB... Just saying...

Oh for the love of God you've got to be kidding me?...Should have figure someone would pull the Fitz card sooner or later...

Sorry for your loss... GO BILLS!!!

Could be... Should be interesting to see how much things change should the Bills have a decent year, and especially show REAL promise...I'd LOVE to see Byrd go back to that jackass and tell him he wants to stay in Buffalo, and to just get the deal done...I'm sure that would be a worst case scenario for Parker...

Best thread ever!!!

Could be!!!...Good point...

Agree 100%...

Totally agree...Thought the same thing what I saw the play...Seriously bush league... That's exactly the impression I'm getting...It's top paid Safety, or maybe top 2, and nothing else...

Agreed... I find it a little interesting that some folks harp on Rogers not being Drafted after getting in trouble, and only really playing one full year of big time College football, yet they forget Hogan was cut by a Miami team desperate...I mean REALLY desperate for WR talent... I don't think Hogan is all that...I think WR's like him are a dime a dozen...At least Kaufman brings a more rare physical package...But Kaufman should pass through waivers no problem...I don't see any way Easley gets cut...So in the end I still think it comes down to Smith, Rogers, Hogan and Kaufman for that last spot...And Rogers is far and away the most talented of the 4...He's also the most raw...But that's to be expected considering his recent past...The truth is that #6 WR will be inactive most Sundays...Especially early on...So Rogers will have at least another month of work assuming there is not a rash of big injuries... I still think for this team, at this point, keeping Rogers is the smart move...Sure it's a slight gamble...But why not gamble a bit now and hedge your bet by keeping Kaufman and another WR on the PS? Just makes the most sense to me...

Totally agree with this take...

Agreed 100%...Could not have said it better myself...

I hear what you're saying But IMHO that's just agent speak you've got going on there...The injury thing is...well...This is the NFL...Each player is taking a certain amount of risk every time they step on the field...period...It's all a bunch of posturing garbage and they know it...No question Parker's job is to maximize Byrd's guaranteed take-in, and no question the injury situation is part of that overall equation...But only to a realistic point...And as usual Parker is not too interested in being realistic with the Bills, because he knows someone out there someday will overpay for Byrd...So good for him...It's well within his right to not negotiate in good faith, ask for WAY too much, and advise his client to hold out when basically no one who is tagged does it anymore... Byrd is in this situation because either he or his agent forced it by asking to be the top paid, or close to the top paid Safety in the NFL...Even though it is crystal clear he is not the top playing safety in the NFL...I'm as big a Jairus Byrd fan as anybody...And I'm a total Bills homer...I'm completely aware of how good Byrd is...And he is good no question about it...But I watch the NFL every week religiously...I see other teams play a lot...Byrd is not as good as at least Thomas, Reed, Polamalu, Goldson, and Wettle...He's probably about even, or maybe a little better, than 5 others...If Byrd or his agent had been halfway realistic about this I'm 100% certain he would have got a hell of a deal with a ton of guaranteed money from the Bills this off season...And we would all be sitting around joining hands and singing "Kum Bay Yah"... Which brings me to my next point...Byrd does not want to be in Buffalo...Call it a gut feeling...Whatever...But Byrd and yes...his pos agent...are not exactly making that point clear...Which IMHO would be the fairer thing to do...Come right out and say it...Jairus is a west coast guy and wants to be closer to home...OK...I actually get that...He does not want to be in Buffalo...I get it...But instead what they are doing is saying we want to stay (and seemingly suffer) in Buffalo, if of course you make Jairus the top paid S in the league...They're completely forcing the hardball on the Bills... Byrd's an NFL player and there is a collective bargaining agreement...The bottom line is the Bills are completely within their right to tag him, and yes Byrd is completely within his rights to sit at home, look down at the guaranteed $7 million dollars waiting for him to show up, and be stubborn because his agent is smarter than all the other agents and understands leverage like no other... And yes I think Parker's a pos...I'd have zero problem telling him that to his face...My opinion of Parker was never high, but after I caught wind that this current posturing was aimed at getting the Bills to drop the right to tag Byrd next year...well...That's when I lost it concerning Parker...I absolutely hate the guy...Admittedly that's just my opinion...And at the end of the day that's all it is...One man's opinion...Though I do believe the evidence is pretty strong in this case...Two holdouts in the past two years out of 29 Franchise tags...And Byrd is one of the two...You don't think he's a pos?...I do...We'll have to agree to disagree on that...So let's just let that one go OK?...

Exactly...Keller played 8 games in 2012...He was coming off an injury plagued season... To the OP...Besides the fact that they were both UFA's, I really don't see where Keller's situation is anything like Byrd's...Plus...Byrd has $7 million dollars guaranteed this season, injury or not...

I was thinking the same thing earlier...Think of Easley in his Rookie season, and look at him now...Easley was ultra-raw coming out of College as well...WR is NOT an easy NFL position to master early on...Rogers comes in with more raw talent than Easley...It's going to take some time no question...But patience here could pay off in a big way down the road...This is a team looking to grow up together...I see no reason to keep a WR with limited upside over Rogers...It just makes no sense at this point for this team...Like uncle flap said earlier in this thread...It would be short sighted...

Great post...Totally agree...The bolded and underlined point is literally the best point that has been made about this roster battle thus far...And it's completely accurate IMHO...

I don't have any problem with the Bills getting creative to get Byrd in...But in no way, shape, or form should they give up their right to tag him for proper compensation...And that seems to be exactly what his agent is lobbying for...Byrd has value to the Bills as a tradable commodity after the 2013 season if nothing more...There should be no doubt the Bills can get a decent Draft pick in return for him once he gets his way and moves on...I'm guessing the asking price will be a 2nd round pick...That's a heck of a good piece for a team looking to challenge over the next few years...The whole standoff right now is about the Bills desire to secure the right to that compensation, and the pos agent's desire to take that away in order to be free and clear to go to the highest bidder and leave the Bills with nothing... I applaud Whaley for standing his ground in this case...I think they wanted Byrd to stay long term at the beginning of this process...but now they realize the writing is on the wall...So they are going to let it play out...And if Byrd does not back off his desire to be the top paid safety in the NFL, they'll tag him and deal him next off season... BTW...KC did not back down to Dwayne Bowe last year...Bowe held out last year, and they did not give up the right to tag him again...They did so, and he ended up resigning anyway...So it can work out that way...

From what I know...and I listen to WGR religiously...It's the same incident being rehashed over and over again first by Joe B, and then Hamilton piggy-backing on it...It was during a goal-line-drills part of practice a few weeks back...Rogers did not know he was supposed to be in the offensive package, and the Coaches could be heard clearly yelling out his name...Goodwin ran on to the field for a second to cover for Rogers before Da'Rick came running out...Apparently Rogers took an earful...But I swear to you I have heard that exact story regurgitated over and over again on WGR...I have heard no other specific report on Rogers not paying attention, or dogging it, or anything like that...Just the same story which probably happens to dozens of NFL players every week during Camps...It's part of the micro reporting were getting these days on the NFL...It's nice to get such detail...But it can also get a bit ridiculous as well... And for the record I have a lot of respect for Joe B because I think he works hard and he pumps out the info...Hamilton should stick to hockey...I don't think he's a football mind at all...But even in the case of Joe B I am 100% certain there are quite a few members of this very board that are more qualified to speak to the intricacies of the NFL than he is...And that's not a knock on Joe B either...It just is what it is...So you have to take a bit of what you hear on WGR with a grain of salt...Overall though I appreciate the coverage...It beats the hell out of what I got for 20 years in Charlotte NC that's for sure...

You point is well taken...I don't think anyone here thought the Bills would have this much quality competition at WR...It certainly will make the decision to cut Rogers easier if in fact that's the way the Bills coaches want to go... It's interesting because I wonder how much of Rogers struggles have to do with how ill-prepared he was for learning an NFL Offense...Especially one that demands you to think quickly at all times...He basically played one full year of big-time College football...I doubt the Offense at Tennessee Tech looked much like the one the Bills are running...And the competition was...well...It was Tennessee Tech...The WR position may very well be the toughest behind only QB to come in and contribute immediately in the NFL...Calvin Johnson is the best WR I've personally ever seen, and he only had 48 receptions and 756 yards as a Rookie...Even Jerry Rice fell short of 1000 yards as a Rookie...And the line of 1st round busts at WR is literally a mile long...I'm certain this has to be a consideration in ultimately deciding Rogers fate... I still think he's got a 50/50 chance to make the roster because the top 5 looks pretty good, the 6th WR is going to be inactive on most Sunday's anyway, and the Bills should easily be able to slide a couple of the lesser known WR's down to the PS...But we'll see soon enough...

Agreed 100% my friend...

Amen to that! Can I get a hallelujah people?

That's just letting the facts get in the way of a good story... Seriously though Kolb did not play poorly in that game...His QB rating was 82.3 for the game (though he had a low QBR of 30.6)...He did have 2 TD's (one passing one throwing), but only 140 yards while completing 55.6% of his passes...Clearly the big story of the game was Brady's 79 QB rating (and the same 30.6 QBR) at home...Rarely is Brady that ineffective at home, especially when he throws for over 300 yards which he did in that game (316)...What is even more interesting is that NE only had one turnover, a Brady INT in that game to Arizona's 2 TO's...It was just a weird game...Kind of fluky if you ask me...But admittedly no one did...

At face value that may seem like an obvious decision...But I don't think it's nearly that obvious with the Bills coaching staff...I think Tuel has caught on to this offense quicker than Kolb has...Partly due to the fact that Kolb missed significant time...Plus it's not like Kolb has necessarily lit the NFL on fire during his career...No question Tuel is an extreme underdog in this fight...But I think he should be given a look with the 1's because you never know until you know...

This is a tough decision for Marrone...I'm going to be very interested in how he handles the reps this week because...traditionally...week #3 of preseason is the trial run...Starters play more than any other preseason game...Most of the time for at least the 1st drive of the 2nd half...On one hand you want to give your potential starting QB a lot of reps should Manuel's rehab cost him week #1...On the other hand I think if it really was a competition between Tuel and Kolb, it would be a dead heat...And I'm guessing Hackett and Marrone would LOVE to see how Tuel performs with the starters against some real NFL starting competition... Should be interesting if nothing else...

If so they can do it with or without a guy that clearly does not want to be in Buffalo and has a prick for an agent... That's just my opinion though...We'll see...