LABills08

I love this is getting national attention. Why are posters ripping TG as Sully-Esque? This is a great read. And I would much rather have the media paying attention to this kind of thing rather than TO's attitude. I was always looking for the stats to see if Edwards throws down field as little as all Bills fans think he does. His Yards per pass are not terrible, so it was tough to figure out. Good read.

Most of our injuries (aside from Butler) have happened on the defensive side of the ball over the past 3 seasons. Whitner, Simpson, Poz (twice), Kelsay, Schobel, Crowell, McKelvin, McGee, McCargo, etc. I would imagine that at least part of the reason these injuries have happened so frequently is because of the amount of snaps our defense ends up taking throughout each season. I know, I know, a lot of these injuries have happened during the first 3-4 games. That is fair, but at the same time, over the course of a few seasons, your body wears down. And our defense has been on the field far more often than our offense over the past 3-4 seasons. I don't think this is an issue of conditioning, or strength training. But, just our team is losing against the law of averages. The more snaps you are on the field for, the more likely you are to get injured. Solution: Maybe our offense should win the time of possession battle for once. Perhaps a method towards reaching that solution would be to abandon the no-huddle...

Except the Lions have the same record, Calvin Johnson, and Matt Stafford. Not saying we are worse than the Lions..but....

I agree completely. To say only 4 QBs are better is crazy at best. At some point, you have to look at the common denominator for the failures of the Bills. Over the past decade, we have had good receivers, good DTs, good DEs, good linebackers, good running backs, good corner backs, good OT's, and good safeties. But, three things remain: 1) Lack of a great QB (when Bledsoe is your best QB over the past decade, thats no good) 2) Lack of a good FO (this includes Wilson who despite the tremendous respect he is owed, is too outdated for the task ahead. Yea yea, everyone will come to his defense. I'm not criticizing him, I'm just saying our team is being run by a 90 year old man. This does not bode well, no matter who you are) 3) Lack of good coaching Not sure what particular order these should go in, but Cutler has demonstrated what a good young QB can do for a franchise. And Cutler would love to have our offensive weapons.

I agree to a point. I don't think the Bills are talentless, I just think they lack crucial talent at the most important positions. QB and Coaching. After watching Edwards for 3 years, it seems to me that he still has not made the important strides he needs to make. This is further amplified when one looks at the talent he is surrounded by. His only defense is the lack of pass protection he gets. I can understand how that effects his timing. But, even when he does get time, he too often throws to the check down receiver. He is still playing like a rookie. One day, Edwards will make a fine coach. He is very bright and I'm sure he has a high football IQ. But, at this point, none of that has translated to points on the board. And I'm not too sure that will ever change. Coaching...enough has been said on the subject. I also think that the Bills linebacker depth has shown to be a big problem once again. Even w/ Poz the linebackers are suspect. Mitchell is a good player/leader, but I wouldn't rank him in the top 8 on the Giant's superbowl winning starting defense. We have great talent splatter randomly over the team, but no cohesive talent. Just look at the offense. Is there any doubt that if the Bills had an above average O-Line they should have been to the playoffs in the past 10 years? Is there any doubt if the Bills have had a good QB in the past 10 years they would have been to playoffs? ****, if you put 90% of the starting QBs in the league on this year's offense, I bet the Bills would be pushing for a playoff spot before its all said and done.

I've jumped off of the Edwards bandwagon. None of his starts have impressed me this season. Same old player as last year. Beats bad teams well. Looks lost against any good team (good coaching). He played well against NE, sure, but I still would give that gameball to Jackson over Trent. He still goes for the underneath receiver every chance he has. Trent and AVP can't quit on something they never tried to do in the first place. Now, I will admit, I have not been at the games so I haven't seen TO in every play (its obviously tough to watch individual players on every down via the TV). But, I very much doubt he is dogging it every play. He is playing for his career.

Anyone know how Clint Sintim is looking?

Unless there some special code amongst teams to lay off of practice squad guys, I agree. It just seems like poor roster management.

I agree. I admit, after reading about the guy, my mind has been changed towards being slightly more optimistic over the pick up. It is easy to get giddy over his speed, athleticism, and potential. That being said, I find it suspect that an organization generally well known for its talent selection (the Packers) would leave this guy off the 53 man roster...EVEN IF he is as raw as everyone claims. I mean, it is possible that the Packers were just confident he wouldn't sign elsewhere, but there have to be some strong negatives about him too for a 5th round pick with his supposed potential to be put on the practice squad. I mean, Bell never got a sniff of action last year, but we kept him off the practice squad so he wouldn't sign elsewhere. From Buffalo News:

Maybin has gotten a lot of time. Thus, he must be doing something the coaching staff likes. For him, it is going to boil down to bulking up a bit and learning some other moves. He is athletic enough to do both of these things IMO. The other option of course is to use him at linebacker.

I never mentioned anything other than figures they wouldn't spend money on someone as insurance. I'm not saying its a terrible move, but I think there is a point when the Bills need to add veteran experience. Perhaps Runyan doesn't want to play on the Bills or split time with someone like Jonathon Scott. But, if that is not the case, and Runyan will just cost more money, I have no problem with the Bills taking a chance on him. Though, I understand, if someone of his caliber hasn't been signed yet, it probably means there is concern over his ability to produce. I'm just saying, Scott/Meredith does not make me as confident as a veteran would. And whoever said a veteran cannot run the no huddle, the Bills no huddle does not run at a pace that requires lineman to be sprinting up the field. And if that is the case, you can just switch out the exhausted guy for a fresh lineman. I can understand if you don't want to add an old stiff like Jones/Runyan/Walker to a line full of exceptionally athletic young guys. That makes sense to me. I just wish there was some veteran experience on there.

link per Rotoworld: Bills signed OT Jamon Meredith from the Packers practice squad. Meredith was a fifth-round pick out of South Carolina this past April. He was expected to be Chad Clifton's eventual replacement. Now he'll provide insurance for the Bills, who lost right tackle Brad Butler for the season. Figures they wouldn't spend big money.

Kind of ridiculous. But the Bills always play better as underdogs. The actuality is the Bills should probably sit at 15 or so. I think they are a dangerous team and their offense will just better as the season goes on (so long as no one gets injured). But, like in past years, I worry that their inability to win the Time of possession battle will come back to haunt them as the season wears on. In any event, I think the Bills will be competitive against the Saints. And if we had beat the Patriots, everyone would be looking for a competitive game. Our defense generally prepares well for these types of games. And if there is a team that should be able to gameplan effectively for a pass heavy attack, it is the Bills. It will all boil down to how often the Bills can disrupt Bree's timing. I think that McGee will be adequate against Colston (Colston is good, but no Randy Moss). I think that Shockey will end up being the biggest disruption. Any news of whether or not McKelvin will play? I would like to see Corner playing nickel back.

Unless we go to the playoffs I think he leaves. I don't think it is as cut in stone as many might think, if he performs well and there are no other offers out there again, he might want another pay check. I know this board thinks Steve Johnson is the second coming, but unless Hardy steps up, I imagine the Bills will be in the market for another receiver, whether it be TO or someone else.

I hate to see Parrish leave based on the pure talent the guy has. It is too bad we never figured out a way to use him a la Wes Welker. But Welker is one of the smarter receivers in the NFL, especially when it comes to running a hot route. I don't think Parrish has ever developed into a player who can do that. The Bills seem far more impressed with Steve Johnson, though I don't think it is Parrish keeping Johnson on the bench.....it is Josh Reed.

News on McKelvin? Maybe just a sprain?

I think that is fair, though as you note, RBs and QBs are hard to compare. That being said, we (of all teams) know that the examples you give are the exception, not the rule. I love Fred Jackson. I am happy he will be on our team for the next 4 years. That being said, as the top teams in the NFL have shown, it is imperative to any solid team that there are two running backs on the squad who can compete. We all want Fred and Marshawn to each get a shot at 27 carries a game, but that isn't going to be the case. Despite that, to have the option to use both of them in a game plan makes our team SO much better. When Fred and Lynch are in the backfield, and TO and Evans are on the outside, teams are going to have to play the Bills very honestly. I like that.

Lynch is the top RB in the AFC East. He and Jackson will both be on the field as much as possible. Jackson is a great player. If you think he puts Lynch on the bench you are a dumbass.

McKelvin is out. Good thing we have 7 CBs on the bench

Ugh. This team plays so scared. Edwards can't take shots like that. He has to throw 50/50 balls. If it gets picked, so what. But come on.

Bills should be up 23/27 to 7. Here is my problem with the fumble. Good coaches put their players in positions to win. Clearly Jacksonn should have held on to the ball, but there was no need to run the ball that many times consecutively. It makes 0 sense. If I had 2-3 downs with less than a minute left (knowing that I was going to get the ball back after the half, I would try the endzone 3 times). Makes no sense to me.

Fun to see. Maybin was making plays on the run BTW. Still can't get by NFL LT's. He is going to be a linebacker. Can the Bills switch to a 3-4, BC I think he will be stand out on the outside playing a Terrell Suggs type role.

Also, As a Bills fan, how often do we have to deal with the chickens coming home to roost? A big criticism of the Bills this offseason (from both fans and media alike) was their failure again to address depth issues at the position of linebacker. We waited until the 5th round of the draft to do this!?! It is absurd to me that we carry such a small group of linebackers. As of now, only Mitchell would start on other teams. And yea, Kawika has a ring, but he is not a pro bowler. I just don't understand. Are we that cheap? Or just that confident in our rookies?

London Fletcher would be nice. Regardless, what are the objective opinions on Nic Harris? Everyone is really high on him. But, everyone is really high on every rookie. Ellison was supposed to be a "diamond in the rough" after his strong rookie season, but in reality, he wouldn't start on 30 NFL teams. Nic Harris looks good on tape. He moves around the field well and appears to have a nose for the ball. I imagine he would be good in coverage as a result of his role as a safety. And he comes from a very strong football program where he played against top competition. But as fans, we cannot keep on believing that all of are problems can be solved by rookies. I guess we have no choice, but veteran depth is needed desperately on our team.

Tim, What is the word on Nic Harris now that Poz is out? A lot of Bills fans have been really high on him based on the tackle numbers he put up in preseason and the fact that he was able to get all over the field. Thoughts on him on the outside with Ellison in the middle? Buggs does not impress me, it seems like a dramatic drop off from Poz (The Bills love keeping tremendous depth at DB, but 0 depth at linebacker...makes no sense.)