Buffalo Bills 2014

[mjd1001]

-No backup QB that knows the playbook, only 2 qb on the roster

-Entire Offense looks bad in preseasons, fans criticizing it as even worse than it is.

-Revolving door at some positions

-Ownership still not settled, Bon Jovi in, then out, then back in---Toronto group threat won't go away, please let it end already.

-It is only preseason and I think Preseason means next to nothing, but can this team be any more boring to watch?

 

I'm sure there are a lot of other things to add to the list, but please, Sabres games can't get here soon enough!

[tom webster]

I don't get the Moorman cut... someone please 'splain it to me

 

He was terrible during games . He a apparently was great in practice but for some reason couldn't do same during games

[nfreeman]

 

 

Did I screw up? Was it Free's wife who got the book from her friends? Some reason I always confuse you two.

 

It was indeed my better half. No love-that-dare-not-speak-its-name events in my house yet though (at least none that I've been invited to).

[Andrew Amerk]

Lets Go Bills!

[darksabre]

Lets Go Bills!

 

:huh:

[Eleven]

Kelvin Sheppard was cut yesterday. Jerry Hughes remains a Bill. Team did something right. Whoa.

[wjag]

Cohen got cut. That's a shame. I didn't see much of the preseason, but what I did see, I liked of him.

[That Aud Smell]

Kelvin Sheppard was cut yesterday. Jerry Hughes remains a Bill. Team did something right. Whoa.

 

Good call.

 

And I'll say it: I think this team can make the playoffs with ol' neck beard at QB. That's provided a few things, such as Watkins getting well an catching 50 balls, but Orton's a competent pro and should be able to do enough to win some games.

[TrueBlueGED]

Good call.

 

And I'll say it: I think this team can make the playoffs with ol' neck beard at QB. That's provided a few things, such as Watkins getting well an catching 50 balls, but Orton's a competent pro and should be able to do enough to win some games.

 

Orton was, at one time, a passable starter for mediocre teams. Unfortunately, that time was long ago. I see no reason to believe that he can lead us to the playoffs.

[Eleven]

 

 

Good call.

 

And I'll say it: I think this team can make the playoffs with ol' neck beard at QB. That's provided a few things, such as Watkins getting well an catching 50 balls, but Orton's a competent pro and should be able to do enough to win some games.

 

It would be really smart to let EJ get the season on the bench that originally was intended.

[That Aud Smell]

#teamneckbeard

[LastPommerFan]

purdue sucks.

[darksabre]

 

 

It would be really smart to let EJ get the season on the bench that originally was intended.

 

I don't hate this idea.

[Hoss]

 

 

It would be really smart to let EJ get the season on the bench that originally was intended.

 

This seems like a horrible idea, to me. Would absolutely shatter any confidence the kid has.

 

Maybe I'm remembering this wrong, but Kyle Orton was a lock for the Heisman late in one his Purdue years before having a sudden turnover bug, right?

[nfreeman]

Grantland's Bill Barnwell on the Bills:

 

For all the excitement they created in trading up for Watkins, the season already seems lost, with 2014 devoted to finding the moments when the team gives up on Manuel and when the franchise is sold by the estate of deceased owner Ralph Wilson. It can feel that way when you’re two years away from even drafting your next quarterback of the future. The Bills are somehow simultaneously rebuilding and hopeless, a franchise both in transition and going nowhere.

 

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/nfl-season-predictions-bottom-eight-teams/

 

For all the criticism that Darcy got (much of it earned), he didn't leave the team with a terrible season AND no first-rounder in the first draft following his departure.

[Eleven]

Grantland's Bill Barnwell on the Bills:

 

 

 

http://grantland.com...om-eight-teams/

 

For all the criticism that Darcy got (much of it earned), he didn't leave the team with a terrible season AND no first-rounder in the first draft following his departure.

 

I read the rest of the piece on the Bills.

 

It's stupid to give up on a QB until he's well into his third year, unless it's blatantly obvious that he can't play (e.g., Tebow). It isn't blatantly obvious with Manuel. I wonder how some of the same writers can condemn Manuel, after ten games, while also saying that this is Ryan Tannehill's year to prove himself, after 32 games.

 

On the other hand, it's also stupid to spend two first-round picks on a wide receiver.

[PASabreFan]

The season already seems lost? Jeez.

[Claude_Verret]

I don't know about a lost season already, I suppose anything can happen....but I have to tip my hat to any Bills fan who can still manage to conjure up some hope after 14 years of irrelevance

[shrader]

I don't know about a lost season already, I suppose anything can happen....but I have to tip my hat to any Bills fan who can still manage to conjure up some hope after 14 years of irrelevance

 

It's all relative. At this point, the only hope I have going into a season is that I hope to still be interested after week 4. That's how far they've fallen. I honestly can't even remember the last time I went into a season optimistic about our chances.

[darksabre]

I read the rest of the piece on the Bills.

 

It's stupid to give up on a QB until he's well into his third year, unless it's blatantly obvious that he can't play (e.g., Tebow). It isn't blatantly obvious with Manuel. I wonder how some of the same writers can condemn Manuel, after ten games, while also saying that this is Ryan Tannehill's year to prove himself, after 32 games.

 

On the other hand, it's also stupid to spend two first-round picks on a wide receiver.

 

People seem to forget that even the mighty Jim Kelly spent TWO YEARS in the USFL before coming to Buffalo. His first year with the Bills? 4-12 in 16 games. His second year with the Bills? 6-6 in 12 games.

 

Jim Kelly didn't do anything with the Bills until 1988, with Frank Reich riding backup, FIVE YEARS after being drafted.

 

And people are ready to give up on EJ before the kid has even begun to develop. If he's still bad in 2016 then maybe we should worry. But he might not really come around for another two seasons. It's not outside the realm of possibility.

[nfreeman]

D4rk, I have been as critical of the Bills as anyone (pretty much) and I too am not ready to give up on EJ. I don't think the comparisons with Jimbo are apt, because Jimbo's college career made it apparent that he was a future franchise QB, as did his USFL production, while EJ's pre-NFL career doesn't remotely approach that level. However, I think it is prudent to give EJ at least 1-2 more years before coming to any conclusions.

 

More importantly, though, I have for a while been ready to give up on the organ-eye-zation as it is currently staffed. I really think we have a bunch of bozos in there running things -- and I think it is basically impossible to have a winning team under those circumstances.

 

I think the best case this year is that EJ shows substantial promise (including by staying healthy) and gets the team to 7-9 or 8-8, new ownership comes in and cleans house, and the new GM and coach decide to stick with EJ. I think there is a reasonable possibility of this happening -- maybe 30% or so.

 

However, I also think that it somewhat more likely -- maybe 40% -- that EJ shows very little this year, the wheels fall off, they go 3-13 or 4-12 and then there is no top-5 pick next year to use on a QB. And that leaves another 30% likelihood of another year more or less like last year -- EJ shows flashes, also shows stinkiness, misses some time with injuries, and the team overall stumbles to yet another dreary 6-10 season.

[shrader]

And on top of that, the league has changed a lot since the days of Jim Kelly. The days of letting any highly drafted rookie sit back and learn are long gone. Players are expected to step in and immediately have an impact, especially those 1st round guys. I'm in the camp that says it's too early to label him a bust, but at the same time, comparing him to Kelly is pointless.

[Eleven]

And on top of that, the league has changed a lot since the days of Jim Kelly. The days of letting any highly drafted rookie sit back and learn are long gone. Players are expected to step in and immediately have an impact, especially those 1st round guys. I'm in the camp that says it's too early to label him a bust, but at the same time, comparing him to Kelly is pointless.

 

Really? Because I think it was pretty smart of Green Bay to let Rodgers hold a clipboard for a couple of years. And I also think that part of the reason SD drafted Rivers is because Brees was forced to play immediately; he, too, would have benefited from some sideline time. By the time he was ready, SD was impatient. Look who's laughing now.

[That Aud Smell]

It's stupid to give up on a QB until he's well into his third year

 

On the other hand, it's also stupid to spend two first-round picks on a wide receiver.

 

True, both.

[TrueBlueGED]

And on top of that, the league has changed a lot since the days of Jim Kelly. The days of letting any highly drafted rookie sit back and learn are long gone. Players are expected to step in and immediately have an impact, especially those 1st round guys. I'm in the camp that says it's too early to label him a bust, but at the same time, comparing him to Kelly is pointless.

 

It's not only the expectations, but it's the rules. It's so much easier for a QB to come in and play now with the rules favoring the passing game. And coaches, to their credit, are doing a much better job of building offenses around young QBs than trying to force young starters into overly complex schemes (or at least into schemes that don't fit the QB's skill set) which necessitate years of learning.

 

D4rk, I have been as critical of the Bills as anyone (pretty much) and I too am not ready to give up on EJ. I don't think the comparisons with Jimbo are apt, because Jimbo's college career made it apparent that he was a future franchise QB, as did his USFL production, while EJ's pre-NFL career doesn't remotely approach that level. However, I think it is prudent to give EJ at least 1-2 more years before coming to any conclusions.

 

More importantly, though, I have for a while been ready to give up on the organ-eye-zation as it is currently staffed. I really think we have a bunch of bozos in there running things -- and I think it is basically impossible to have a winning team under those circumstances.

 

I think the best case this year is that EJ shows substantial promise (including by staying healthy) and gets the team to 7-9 or 8-8, new ownership comes in and cleans house, and the new GM and coach decide to stick with EJ. I think there is a reasonable possibility of this happening -- maybe 30% or so.

 

However, I also think that it somewhat more likely -- maybe 40% -- that EJ shows very little this year, the wheels fall off, they go 3-13 or 4-12 and then there is no top-5 pick next year to use on a QB. And that leaves another 30% likelihood of another year more or less like last year -- EJ shows flashes, also shows stinkiness, misses some time with injuries, and the team overall stumbles to yet another dreary 6-10 season.

 

I do not believe a team with a top-5 defense can completely bottom out in that fashion. At the very least, I'd put the chances at much lower than 40%. This also means that if EJ shows substantial improvement, this is a fringe playoff team. I think the team is 7-9 if EJ gives them the exact same thing he did last year, except for 16 games instead of 10.