WhitewalkerInPhilly

"Bills elite LB corps" is a phrase I have not heard in a long time. But seriously, the Spikes/Kiko combination is one I'm looking forward to. Between them, and our defensive line, I could argue that we might have one of the best front 7's in football right now.

Look, I hear the arguments for Gordon. I think that the policy on weed use is stupid, and considering what Vick got for running a dog fighting ring a year long suspension does seem over the top. But when you are in the third stage of the drug program, meaning that you have been caught over and over and told that if you don't stop, things will get worse, and you don't... And then, right when you get to the point where someone is deciding your fate, and something like this shows up... Of course, a dark part of me can't help but think "Hey, if he's not in the lineup this year, we don't have to play against him, Johnny Football has a dramatically less talented group of WR's and it improves our odds if he is out for a year"

Yeah, that beard... I'm, all for team spirit, but I hope that's one thing Sammy doesn't pick up. On the plus side, we don't have to worry about Williams running into the ladies while he has that thing.

williams put up 11 touchdowns his rookie year. if sammy can learn that, i'm cool with it.

It seems odd that branch and lawson aren't showing up. i wonder if they are unhappy about the new scheme.

while i don't to blow it out of proportion, it is slightly worrying considering that he was supposed to be completely healthy. hopefully its something he's walking off

considering that hairston seems to be back, that would but pears 4th on the depth chart, never mind if henderson gives him a run for his money.

I say this just because I expect to hear this, and variations of it, as often as we heard about Fitz's wedding ring: "The Bills mortgaged their future, moving up to take Sammy Watkins at pick number 4..." Tell me you don't see that repeated ad nauseam? ... Please, tell me otherwise

It's a tougher question than you think, especially because. I think one important stat has been left off that voting board, and it's really the biggest one outside of wins: Touchdowns. Who do you hit in the Red Zone? I think Sammy will probably eventually have the best production. And I do think that he will have the most catches this year. But I'm thinking that, due to his playing style, a lot of those are going to be short passes that try to get good YAC, and he's an easy dump of target, which is going to bring down his yards. Woods managed to be EJ's security blanket and had a knack for being open and having great chemistry with our new QB. Without Stevie, he's probably the best route runner we have, so I see him taking the "Yards" category. Goodwin has an invaluable ability to take the top of defenses, and is probably the best way to force teams out of putting a single lone safety and challenging the Bills to beat them deep. If defenses play him with a cushion, he happily takes 6-8 yards a play, which keeps the sticks moving, and if they pair up without the cushion in man to man he can blow away very good CB's with his speed And then we have Mike Williams. A hair taller, bigger and slower than Sammy Watkins, with an incredible jump ball ability, I can easily see him as being the red zone target to beat. He's also good enough that he's going to beat the #2 CB most of the time, so double teaming Sammy is going to have a steep price to pay. I see him as the touchdown leader. So who wins? Hopefully, the Bills

I agree that we don't have a certain 4th DE. However, I think we probably have someone like that on the team, 1) If it turns out that Marrone wasn't lying back when he hired Schwartz and said that it would be the same defense, and it is for the the most part the same, we have Branch to act as the heavy 5, which worked pretty well. 2) When we first took on Schwartz, a lot of people started screaming about how we were going to fail using the Wide 9 because our run game was so bad. Of course, it usually is used situationally, but our FA acquisitions were for the best run stuffing MLB in the league and for a SLB (Rivers) who has a reputation for being a thumper. These guys would mitigate the risk of having Hughes line up wider at the 9 technique, while Mario is talented enough to beat most LOT's playing the 5 technique. 3) We use Hughes, Lawson and Wynn in rotation. There is no one perfect solution, but considering the strength of the D-line, we really need a workable one.

Before the draft I kept thinking, "Wow, between Gilmore, McKelvin, Robey and Graham we have a very solid group at CB. I just hope that if they move someone over to FS that they get another guy who can play outside if Gilmore or McKelvin go down." And then they took Cockrell, who might be a perfect fit at safety, and if not gives room to move Graham over there.

Pretty much what other have said, with some caveats. Robey is really, really good at defending short routes. I see him as the anti-Amendola/Welker, which is good when you play them three games this year. But I believe the Saints wound up pairing Jimmy Graham on him.

Admittedly, I have not watched a ton on film on C. Williams. To be fair, he has not graded out all that well, but that was A) while being the most reliable member of a bad line, which can affect even good players and B) He did is playing three of the best defenses in the league twice a year (Seahawks, Nineers, Cards) I can see C. Williams starting this year, letting Richardson come along. I have also heard rumors that Cockrell is Henderson's new project. He might be moving to safety, or his presence may let Corey Graham move over.

2-3 wins? In a season? Hell, even at my most pessimistic I don't expect to be that bad.

To all those worried about Golisano being too cheap, doesn't the NFL have minimums of their cap that teams have to spend?

One of the reasons that I wanted Evans was his history of really reaching out to snag a lot of ball on high and late throws. (Sound familiar?) Williams shows a knack for it too, and with Sammy snagging almost every ball coming his way on a number of errant throws, we might finally be cooking!

This is the line I liked best from Marrone:

I've never understood the idea that people thought that he wouldn't make the team. During draft time, people kept talking about Woods being paired with Sammy and I kept fighting the urge to blow up and tell them that Mike Williams will be the #2. Before we took Sammy, I was pretty sure that he could have beat out Stevie at #1. Looking at his draft measurables, he looks shockingly like Sammy Watkins (which is why I thought the Bills wouldn't draft him), Mike Williams is 6'2 to Sammy's 6'1, has ten pounds on Sammy, is 0.1 seconds slower in his 40 time, has a higher vertical than Sammy, and has four years of league experience to get him up to speed with the game. And, of course, he had ELEVEN touchdowns as a rookie. I know that some of that is an aberration, like how Byrd racked up a ton of interceptions his rookie year and then slid but the man has talent. Barring arrest, the man should be on the field. Considering that we kept saying that Woods looks like Stevie, I really see him in the slot. What do you guys think of a 3 WR set with Sammy and Mike on the outside and Woods running a slant over the middle?

I have to agree with you CBF. 9-7 is fighting for the playoffs. Even if you don't make it, with the schedule they face this year, it means that EJ is at least as good as Andy Dalton and you have a extremely talented group of young guys, most of whom are locked up for next year. If they go 7-9 or worse, I would seriously be concerned.

that is true. one of the question marks that was brought up was whether he could beat press coverage . everyone played off to beat him at the line. look, i'm a watkins skeptic, but percy harvin gets production. we already have outside wr's in williams and woods, so i see him as a moveable chess piece

The part of the article I liked best: Now let's keep it that way!

14...let's hope that uniform Fitz

While I tend not to pimp my own threads, this directly applies to your question. http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/167718-how-do-we-use-our-wrs-this-year/ Last year, Hackett ran a lot of snag routes, which are useful for giving EJ quick progressions. The general idea is that if they roll double coverage over on Sammy, they leave the other edge receiver in single coverage, who would then run a go route (likely Goodwin or M. Williams) while providing a dump off option to CJ in the flat if the CB plays off.

Our most experienced Wide Receiver is Mike Williams, a man who put up 11 touchdowns in his rookie season, as compared to 3 in two years by Graham. I agree with most of what you said though. I will say that Hackett impressed me at times. The playcalling he did in the two minute drill comeback against Carolina was inspired. He, for the most part, did a great job in prepping a third stringer to face a very tough defense (at that point) against the chiefs...right until Tuel blew it with, compounded with a horrible play call. Hackett read Jets defense (one of the best in the league, remember) well in their second meeting, and he read the teams's emotions when they got pissed off at Rex Ryan's challenge.One play later, EJ hits Goodwin on the most beautiful pass I saw from him all season for a touchdown. Of course, Hackett sputtered a lot too. He a rookie OC, and on top of that, he was the QB coach for a rookie QB. This year, there's a division of labor so I hope that a year of seasoning and less on his plate shows some impact.

They definitely are run heavy teams. But with CJ, Freddy, AND Brown, with what looks like one of the heaviest run blocking lines in the league we might beat them.