metzelaars_lives

He absolutely should have been the MVP of the Pro Bowl. I couldn't believe he wasn't. Watt winning it was clearly a season achievement award. Not that it really matters.

Do you think that with our defense and if we upgrade the OL (which I fully expect them to do/do not think will be that difficult to do) that Nick Foles would be good enough to get us to 10 wins? Because I think he would and I also think that Manuel would not.

Nick Foles is a middling starting NFL QB. Like somewhere between the 14th and 18th best starting QB in the NFL. He is absolutely one of the top 32 QB's in the world right now and will start for someone next year. EJ Manuel has not shown that he is capable of being a starting QB in the NFL. He regressed in his second season, lost all confidence and has a tendency to not throw footballs to wide receivers unless they're wide open. He is absolutely not one of the best 32 QB's in the world and will not start for anyone ever again unless he somehow beats out whoever we bring into camp next year. Which, mind you, he has sucked even worse in camp and preseason than he has in actual games so I wouldn't bet on that. And what world do we live in where people are ready to declare that a guy who threw 27 TD's and 2 INT's two seasons ago, led his team to a 9-3 start this season and has only been in the league three years, is "awful" when the most serviceable QB play we've gotten since 2004 was from Ryan Fitzpatrick.

I would be curious to kick the tires on Jake Locker. They're going to bring in one guy (like a Locker or a Sanchez) and draft a guy and there's gonna be a three way competition in camp. Or else they're gonna make a big splash for a real guy who is a definite starter. Like Sam Bradford or Nick Foles.

I also don't think that Nick Foles will ever put up numbers like that again. What I said is a) you have to be decent to put up those kind of numbers- I don't care whose system you're in and b) in no universe and under absolutely no circumstances could EJ Manuel catch any sort of lightning in any bottle and put up numbers like that.

You seem like a nice guy and you have good grammar- especially for this board- but with all due respect, if you think a) EJ Manuel could possibly match Foles' numbers from 2013 in any system or b) that Manuel to Foles is a lateral move "at best," well then I think I should be the one to inform you that literally no human beings on planet Earth share either of these opinions with you except possibly a few other Bills fans.

So if EJ Manuel went to Philly, do you think he would be capable of throwing 27 TD's and 2 INT's in a 12 game span?

You're crazy. I'm not saying Sanchez is the answer either- personally I'd prefer Bradford, Foles, RGIII, Carson Palmer (if somehow the Cardinals decided to go in a different direction or something) but dude, at the very least you wouldn't want Sanchez to come in and compete with EJ? You'd honestly prefer Jeff Tuel? And is a "turnover machine" any worse than a "refuses to throw the ball downfield" machine?

A quarterback one year removed from his first season as a full time starter during which he threw for 27 TD's and 2 INT's is "awful." Got it.

OK nice attempt with the BTTF reference but Russell Wilson is underrated if anything. My guess is you're overreacting just a bit to his game last week that he led an incredible 4th quarter comeback in. He is, at worst, a top ten qb in the NFL on anyone's list.

Agreed 100%. So was Eric Moulds. So was Aaron Schobel. So was Reggie McKenzie (before my time but this is what I understand to be the case). Ritcher and Hansen going up is kinda like when Bert Blyleven got in the Hall of Fame. It makes you wonder if the Bills are around for a long time how are they gonna have room for every solid, steady guard who plays for the Bills for an extended period of time. No disrespect whatsoever by the way, I loved Jim Ritcher. But you get the sense that the WOF was more than a little political- especially with Lou Saban and Cookie Gilchrist somehow not up there- and I guess we'll find out if that changes with Ralph's passing. EDIT: didn't realize Ritcher played 14 years for the Bills. That changes things a bit. I take it back. Still think Hansen going up before Moulds and Brown is suspect though.

The Blue Meanie

There's really no reason to believe that. Geno Smith has certainly shown higher highs than EJ but has also shown (I guess) lower lows but that is really only a function of him actually being willing to take shots down the field.

Who's playing quarterback? That will dictate how everyone feels about the assistant coaches by midseason.

It looks like rational minds have kind of prevailed in this thread, which was being dominated by morons yesterday. That is nice to see.

When I was growing up, you weren't allowed to push your offensive teammate forward and now the Patriots blatantly do it every time Brady does his patented QB sneak. What am I missing on that one? Nope. I think the NFL OT rules are perfect. The last thing I'd want to see in the NFL is a game that goes into OT at 31-31 end up as a 67-61 final. What do you do about the statistics then? Guys could have multiple OT TD's.

You do realize that Jackson is five years older than Lynch, right? Jackson is about to turn 34. Lynch will be lucky if he's not already a vegetable by 34 the way he runs.

Of course McCargo was a horrible pick. No one would deny that.

You are right on as you often are. The big rumor was that the Saints were reportedly willing to give up a 3rd round pick. So if that's what people want to complain about- that we perhaps could've gotten a 3rd round pick instead of a 4th- then that is a fair argument. But to argue that he hadn't worn out his welcome here is showing that you have a very short memory. You cannot lump the drafting of Mike Williams and John McCargo together. Williams was a great pick at the time and McCargo, like Whitner, Troup and TJ Graham was a colossal stretch.

They also only allowed 26 sacks that season with the Losman/Edwards platoon. They were excellent in pass protection in 2007. Walker was a more than serviceable RT and Butler was very, very good. Dockery was serviceable and Fowler sucked. They were a good OL in 2007 and 2008.

He looked good. He never looked as good as McGahee looked in 2004 or Travis Henry did for a few years or Spiller in 2012. He was a plodder; a tough runner and averaged 4 yards a carry. I think we're arguing two different things here. Yes of course the trade worked out in Seattle's favor. But I am arguing (remembering) that at the time of the trade, his play had regressed, he had lost his starting job fair and square, he had worn out his welcome in Buffalo and no one was sad to see him go. In fact, if anyone recalls, we were all excited because the rumor was we were going to trade Lynch to Green Bay for AJ Hawk. OK so let's take a poll. Who thinks that Marshawn Lynch is the same running back now that he was on the Bills and has not elevated his game with Seattle whatsoever?

OK so besides conceding that his numbers have been superior in Seattle, there is also something called the eye test. Just watching him play, he is clearly a top 5 RB in football. Did he ever look that way to you in Buffalo? Would Fred Jackson have beaten him out for the starting RB position if he looked like he did yesterday on the Bills? Would they have drafted Spiller if he looked like he did yesterday on the Bills? Exactly.

Nope, no it wasn't. Jason Peters was an AP second team all pro and pro bowler in 2007 and 2008 and they were excellent at pass protection and regarded as one of the better OL's in the league both years. But Bills fans love to throw around that their offensive line always sucks, I get it.

Yes he was solid. He averaged 4.0 and 4.1 YPC as a full time starter both season, totaling 1,115 and 1,036 yards respectively. In his 4 years as a full time starter in Seattle, he has averaged 4.2, 5.0, 4.2 and 4.7 YPC, while gaining 1,204, 1,590, 1,257 and 1,306. So yeah he has taken his game to another level. If we could go back to 2009/2010, there was not one fan of the Bills who thought that Lynch was better than Jackson. Not a single one. Jackson was decidedly more productive and infinitely more likeable. He had won the job from Lynch. Period. It's comments like these that make me wonder why I bother wasting my time in some of these threads. Go on freaking football reference and look at his numbers in Buffalo vs. Seattle. It's not that hard to do. Anyone who thinks Marshawn Lynch has not elevated his game in Seattle should not be wasting their time posting on a football site because they do not know anything about football. One run, great. Well then Garrison Hearst is the best running back in football history.

Nope not true. The year before the trade Fred Jackson won the starting job from Lynch by averaging 4.5 yards per carry and rushing for over 1,000 yards while Lynch was relegated to backup duty, averaging 3.8 yards per carry. Jackson also had twice as many receiving yards and had proven to be a weapon out of the backfield as well. After drafting Spiller 9th overall and with Jackson looking better than Lynch again to start the 2010 season, Lynch was by every account, the 3rd running back on the Bills.