JESSEFEFFER

I saw a B/R podcast where Simms and two others really talked up the Darby pick. One, maybe Simms, had him in their top 20 and said he was the best press/man corner in the draft. Much different that some of the other "experts."

In statistical terms, I'd say that EJ's supposedly regressed play in his last two games and the o-line's easily demonstrated regression has a correlation coefficient pretty close to 1.000. The maker of the Youtube videos is biased in that he is acting as an advocate for EJ. Much like defense attorneys (or player agents) that try to create a case for innocence, they can't help but say some pretty dumb things like "He was there but didn't pull the trigger" or "He is innocent but the NFL ran a sting operation."

Too lazy to look but could it be practice a squad elibility situation?

Plenty of opinions from near and far that Geno > EJ ( mostly due to assuming the benching is a sign of greater "suckitude") or that they are mostly the same which I'd highly dipsute. EJ has shown a much greater tendency to give his team a chance to win. I do not beleive the Bills wil have poor QB play in 2015 or should be in a panic. They have 3 chances for someone to stand and deliver decent QB play.

Don't look at 99.5% vs. 97% as insignificant. It's a 600% increase in missed X points. Teams are likely to attempt more 2 point conversions due to 1) having to make up for a missed 1-pointer 2) feeling the payoff over the long term is there or 3) weather conditions making a 33 yarder much less probable than 97% (blustery day at the Ralph, kicking toward the northwest end (fka the scoreboard end.)

I will look into that. I do know one was heavily dependent on Justin Rogers being the starting corner for the Bills. When looking at the composite stats for any QB, look out for the ones that are mostly poor outings skewed by a smattering of outstanding ones vs. those that have a majority of good games that are heavily influenced by a few bad ones. Btw, last year Kyle Orton had only 4 of his 12 starts with a tQBR at 50+, 2 of those vs. the Jets.

Geno Smith has had 30 starts. In only 8 of his starts did he break the 50 mark in the tQBR rating. EJ did it in 8 of his 14 starts. Geno did have some great games (4) in his 30 starts but I'd think the the guy that's hit 50+ in 57% of his games has shown more than the one @ 27%.

Cody Webster (Kirkland, WA LL) and Marcus Dupree were two of the better ones I've seen. These productions can give new life to any story that you thought you knew.

Context always matters. If the hit occurs in under 2.5 s or after 4s seconds should matter. If the hit was the result of a whiff on an interior block should matter. If the a hit were due to a missed blitz pickup by a back should matter. If the QB holds the ball too long and takes sacks should matter. If the o-line can't make blocks in the open field and the screen game is nonexistent should matter. The 2014 o-line was not an asset. The 2012 line was.

Better analogy would be a PGA golfer that had illegal golf balls that could be driven and extra 20 yards and then had them doctored up to make them look legal using some counterfeit markings. It takes it to another level when something is done to make something that has the appearance of legality but it has been altered by some sort of subterfuge followed by a coverup.

I guess they'll have to cancel this parade too.

I predict 2 games. In my nightmare scenario, we lose to the Pats with Jimmy Garapallo as their QB and we are deabating about which loss was worse -- losing to the Steeler backups with the playoffs on the line or losing to the Patriots w/o the QB that we think is 98% of the reason that we contiunue to lose meaningful games to the Patriots? That's a thread I do not want to see. Personally, I'd rather Brady played in game two so when we do beat them it will feel like the Bills might be poised for a legit run at the division title.

It could be that Taylor will see the field as a play making, situational player, maybe a Brad Smith role but with a bigger trheat to throw.

One of the strongest attributes of Joe Flacco is that he starts 16 games every year. This means that Taylor is even more of a mystery as one can't really assess how much he may have improved during his 4 professional seasons. There's no meaningful gauge. Those upset that a 2015 QB draft choice was not used on a QB weren't paying attention. Whaley said that they wanted to address all the team needs in the FA period (missed on a tackle) so that they did not need to draft to fill galring needs. I do not know why people choose to consider drafts isolated from other offseason acquisitons (Mel Kiper, Bill Polian and many Bills fans.) It's seems rather foolish to me.

Seems Darby was picked for many of the same attributes as Gilbert was last year in that they are coveted for the style of corner that they can play. It will be interesting to see which of them has the better career.

I am with the OP. Looking at a draft isolated from other off season activities is foolish. What if they did not resign Hughes? Would they then get some great draft grade for picking some highly rated edge rusher? Getting Tyrod Taylor is the equivalent of any other QB draft acquisition they could have made. He is competing for playing time this year and it seems like they think highly enough of him to give him a 3rd roster spot on their active roster if only for some specially designed, situational plays. Any QB they might have drafted would have had to be good enough to get EJ or Tyrod cut or bad enough to stay on the practice squad without some other team making him an offer. I still see a problem at tackle but it's not likely that Whaley has given up on upgrading the roster either.

There are fans of the draft process and those that make their living from just talking and writing about it and I think it's natural to overstate the value of individual draft picks. Make no mistake, there was a time when that was the only way to build a roster so every pick had a value and it was the be all end all of acquring talent. Now, with only 7 rounds, undrafted free agents, restricted free agents and unrestricted free agents, there are other ways to improve a roster. That's the bottom line. Doing whatever it takes to improve one's roster. What is the value of a BLUE CHIP talent to a team? How many players are there in every draft that are consensus Blue Chip Talents? Is there a realistic discount for future picks compared to current ones? He was picked to make EJ better. BS, if EJ is cut then does Sammy have to go too? OBJ had a better year so trading up for Sammy was not necessary. BS, beause you run the draft based on the information you have. Sammy was their #1 prospect so in their mind they were going from 9 to 1. Ebron to Watkins. I suspect that one injury plagued, rookie year in a pitiful offense is not enough time for an elite talent such as Sammy Watkins to show what he ultimately be. Platitude: A bird in hand is worth two in the bush especially when you can go to Wegman's and buy another bird, There is a value to the known, sure commodity and a discount to the unknown, unproven one.

Just had an electrician at my home that knows Marquise quite well. Unfortunately, its because he has some children who are seriously ill and hospital visits are something Gray does often. He affirmed that Marquise and his lady (not sure if she was a wife or gf) are genuinely decent people. Yes, this stuff matters to me as well. I want the guys that I pull for to be worthy of my support.

I have been paying attention to the Bills since the early '70s and there has not been a less respected head coach than Hank Bullough. The players openly mocked him. We are talking Talley, Smerlas and Smith here.

It's my opinion that EJ was more consistent than what most believe. In his cautious, protect the ball first and try to make a play second style, he was mostly pretty steady. In 8 of his 14 starts he had a tQBR over 50 ( keep throwing this out there to provoke some discussion.) In fact, the 3 of those 8 that the Bills lost were the NE, Cle and Atl games where most would agree that other parts of the team failed in the clutch and not EJ. In games where the whole offense was losing their battles (Houston, TB) EJ's performance just imploded in the most visible way and he became the focus of the losses. I see the Bills becoming a team that will win their individual battles all over the field, including the offense. I guess I am counting on this coaching staff to fix the offensive line which must happen to allow any of their QBs be successful.

I think the Bills had a good gauge on who else was in the market and which of those teams were also interested in EJ (NYJ and Phi?) They were looking at who might jump back into the first round to get him ( maybe at 20+) and had been burned enough over the prior years that they were not going to chance it any further than 16.

For the difference in the value between a 4th round pick and a 7th? That's a franchise altering difference? The only real value to EJ is if he somehow grows into the position. You know, what talented, hard working, coachable human beings with the right attitude tend to do with experience.

Well, if the Browns were so kind as to draft a WR and said WR had a HOF type career that was obviously better than Sammy's, some posters here could B word about that for the next decade too. That would be logically flawed but that would not stop them.

He also is very comparable to Joe Flacco's first season's worth of games.

David Cutcliffe, HC of Duke, has been the go to guy forthe Manning's off season work for much of their pro careers. He was Peyton's OC at Tennesee and Eli's HC at Mississippi. Peyton went to him after his neck surgery to put his throwing motion back together and rebuild his confidence. David Cutcliffe has never played in the NFL or coached in it and, as a matter of fact, never played the QB position.