San Jose Bills Fan

It was not an overnight re-define but the upper management has transitioned in the last couple of years. The question is whether people think the organization can really re-define itself when the owner and his right hand man are still the same. I believe it is possible but I completely understand the skepticism of others. The real question is if Brandon will run the team differently than when Ralph was running it? The recent hires and moves certainly feel different.

BTW, in fairness to Buddy, Mark Dominik is 42 years old so what's his excuse? Thanks for posting the link. This is silly and ironic. The confidentiality of the Bills succession plan trumps whatever fan needs are out there. Now we're gonna slam Brandon for misleading the fans? Anyways as I stated before, I thought Buddy would ride out the season at least. I am surprised.

This is true. EJ needs to fix that. On the plus side I think the points about Michael Vick and RGIII being small (and therefore more injury-prone) and Kaepernick and Cam Newton and EJ being big (therefore less injury-prone) have a lot of validity to them.

Maybe one of us needs to pitch it to Branden. I mean Brandon.

Mulligans?

Seriously the Bills used to run one open practice as part of their OTAs and it was usually in conjunction with the Pick a Seat Day. I used to love going down to the stadium to watch the rookies and vets workout in a practice setting. With all the attention to marketing and sales I'm really surprised this concept hasn't been resurrected.

Man, you sure know how to make a person feel small.

Very much agree with this take. I was criticized here for commenting negatively about Nassib's appearance on Gruden's QB Camp. He slouched in his chair and mumbled his responses. I found that to be very strange and disturbing behavior for someone who is auditioning for one of the 32 most glamorous jobs in professional sports. All the truly great QBs exude a certain quality. Other guys (Phillip Rivers and Jay Cutler) don't. Of course Nassib could have a strong huddle persona but that's only part of the job. An NFL QB is also the face of the franchise.

Very fascinating stuff. Thanks for posting. I'd rather listen to the players and coaches than any announcers that's for sure. Of course the NFL would never let you peak behind the curtain for very long. It was interesting to see how elementary the play calls were btw. I understand your point but disagree with you dismissing the idea. Firstly Trestman's considered a pretty brilliant offensive coach and secondly, "looking off" a defense or a safety or whatever is something that QBs only do occasionally, not all the time. Looking off the defense typically only happens when you're trying to move the safety over and it makes it harder for the QB to find and hit his primary target. As the QBs are going through their progressions I would say that most of the time there head will be pointed at their reads. Even when that's not the case I think the coaches will be able to use the video to draw pretty strong conclusions.

As I've posted elsewhere, I would not be surprised if Gragg is the starting TE for the Bills. He has slightly less than ideal height but he has long arms and runs like the wind. Really a great athlete and awesome value for a 7th rounder.

Your obvservations are accurate. In addition he won a battle of wills with the iron-jawed Don Shula. Many might not know but in Shula's 2 Super Bowl victories, he only allowed Hall of Fame QB Bob Griese a grand two-game total of less than 30 pass attempts. In spite of Shula's repeated attempts to reign in Marino and restore some balance to the offense, Marino insisted on audibling to pass plays at an alarming rate. Not much has been written about this subtext…. it's almost like no one wants to tarnish the legacy of either man but I believe that Marino's obstinate behavior was a reason for Shula's retirement.

Good call. I was thinking it was the Macarena.

This is interesting stuff. Here's his NFL.com scouting report. I bolded some of the criticisms of his actual play: STRENGTHS Physical specimen with power and strength. Works very well over the middle, and is extremely difficult to bring down after the catch. Gets off the line well for a player of his size. Shows flexibility in adjusting to the football, making difficult catches, and getting out of his routes. Uses his body to shield defenders from making a play on the football. Smooth, with good body control when going up for the football. Strong hands allow him to grab low and wide passes adeptly. Physical run blocker when engaged, will sustain through the play. WEAKNESSES Off-field maturity and on-field effort have been issues. Stops his route at times if not the primary target. Body language on the field can be defeating. Lacks great explosiveness to run by corners, no extra gear. Will struggle to track the football at times. Not a very instinctual receiver, doesn't always run the routes he should, doesn't fight to get open when the play breaks down. NFL COMPARISON Greg Little BOTTOM LINE Rogers is a physical specimen with strong hands who overpowered defenders in his routes and after the catch on his way to second-team All-SEC status in 2011 (67 catches, 1,040 yards, nine TDs), and to a dominating season (78 catches for 1,207 yards and 11 TDs) while at Tennessee Tech. His immaturity off the field caused him to be dismissed from Tennessee before the 2012 season, and thus the biggest questions with Rogers will be about character concerns. While he's not a quick-twitch, vertical threat, Rogers is a big, physical receiver who works well across the middle, and has a tremendous deal of talent. edit: http://www.nfl.com/draft/2013/profiles/darick-rogers?id=2540179

Also as we've been discussing it's not necessarily only a case of him being an idiot. This guy could be having serious chemical imbalances in his brain. Even ones that are not drug-induced. I'm not making excuses for the guy but rather pointing out some possibilities for his bizarre behavior.

There are also condensed games which include every play and take about 10 minutes to watch.

What if by bulking up he loses speed and quickness? And of course this doesn't address the question of whether his frame is suitable for carrying an extra 25 pounds or more. Again I think changing positions is a disservice to the guy.

And he's never been given the opportunity to compete full time as a receiver. Also I didn't say you were hating him. I said that there seems like there's more hate for him than there is "love."

Dan Fouts also had a very quick release as of course did Namath.

Well besides Nelson having better measurables (40 yard time, vertical jump) Nelson also played at a higher level of competition than Kaufman so there's that too. I'm not trying to denigrate Kaufman but just pointing out some facts.

I also wonder how many people have truly been trying to help him over the years.

So the OP is concerned about two things. 1) EJ running too much. 2) The way he actually runs the ball. Obviously everyone knows that you can't have sustained long, term success as an NFL QB unless you can pass the ball effectively. There's a balance out there where running is effective but not over-relied upon. Kapernick and Russell Wilson both averaged about 6 carries per 60 minutes. RGIII averaged over 8 carries per 60 minutes.

One of the unfortunate things about Rogers from a fan perspective is that there's been so much focus on his story that very few people have written or discussed his actual strengths and weaknesses as a player. We keep hearing how talented he is but that seems like only part of the story. What are the deficiencies in his game?

According to one advanced stat, Manuel completed 70% of his passes when flushed from the pocket. One of the reasons he ran a lot in college is because he was in a two-read offense. He was instructed to run if both reads were covered.

I'm surprised that you say that because it seems to me that there's a lot more Brad Smith hate than there is Brad Smith love. The Bills believe he has potential as a wide receiver. It's been explained numerous times in this forum and I thought you were a regular reader here.

Chan Gailey is gone and so is the Wildcat. The reason the Wildcat is going extinct in this league is exactly as you asked about Smith…. in the Wildcat the opponent knows 95% that it's a running play. During the Wildcat craze there wasn't a team using it that had a viable passing threat. Another reason for the extinction of the Wildcat is the influx of read option QBs in the league. Read option plays are essentially Wildcat plays except now there's actually a passing threat which makes the plays much more effective. The reason that Brad Smith is on the roster is because the team believes he has good potential as a wide receiver, which he showed in flashes in limited opportunities. Brad Smith still has the elite measurables that he came out of college with. Ah but Nelson actually timed faster than Kaufman.