Ronin

And again, BINGO!!! You hit that nail right on the head, but you forgot to add coaching into the mix. A good coach would have them focused. You can draw your own conclusions after that. As for me, I'm just curious who the new coach will be? The suspense is killing me! Could be an assistant from the Rams maybe? Or a college coach that coaches a D-II team? Or maybe Norv Turner? I'm tingling with excitement. Then of course the GM, who's that going to be? Maybe they'll upgrade and get someone that works tickets for the Hamilton Tiger Cats. All I know is that whomever they are, they'll know more than any of us here. LOL That's called coaching. Again, everyone is left to draw their own conclusions. The picture should clear up substantially by the bye week tho for those late to the party.

LOL No, it's just preseason. The statements really didn't occur and they don't mean anything. The OL will be playing lights out ball come week 1. Levitre's also obviously delusional since he seems to think that the preseason has any meaning. You'll find quite a bit of backing for that here. LOL Great point, and there's not much difference between the Packers offense last year and the Bills. Good observation. All I know is that good coaching will have Gailey resting his starters in the 4th preseason game rather than playing them so that they don't get hurt and can come out and lead the team to 10 points/game fully healthy. I mean why would he want to use that 4th preseason game to play them to have one last attempt to develop some chemistry and effectiveness. That would be a bad coach, BAD coach, for risking the players on this superstar offense to get injured. LOL You'll know who gets it when the fingers begin pointing back at Nix and Gailey.

LOL Except for Graham's one catch, right. Scores don't matter, the play of rookies and others looking to make the teams do. Also what matters is that the team hasn't been able to dig its way out of miserable offensive performance going almost all the way back to the beginning of last season. For everyone that can't see that now, they'll see it soon. I suppose that a team that has seen fit to play offense ineptly for nearly an entire year will come out of the gates in week 1 on the road against the Jets and light up Revis and the Jets D though. We can always hope, at least until it doesn't happen. That's where good planning comes in though and I think we're going to see Nix and Gailey's planning with lots of holes at that time.

I think I pretty much said that, that we don't know what Wilson is going to do. But, we can make comparisons between Wilson and Graham. Wilson's played very well, enough to cause a preseason controversy, which won't end in his favor, over who should start in Seattle at QB. At least one poster has opined here about how great Graham has played in preseason. Really? Graham's played well? Because I've got both gamebooks open right now and here's what I see about Graham, going against the 2nd, 3rd, and soon to be goners of other teams - He's been unimpressive in limited KRs and PRs. So where's this crazy speed? He caught a 5 yard pass in the Vikes game which shows nothing. He caught three passes in the Skins game from Thigpen, one for 11, one for 21 from Thigpen, and one from Young for 8 yards. He also dropped one pass and had a false start. Who considers any of that impressive? That leaves one catch that he made against the Vikes for 64 yards thrown by Young over a backup Safety, not even a cover oriented CB. And so for that everyone knows that Graham's going to be good? ... whatever So to sum up, Graham's going to be excellent because he caught one pass against a backup safety in backup action, and against that same kind of competition really hasn't shown anything, including speed, and who dropped one of only a handful of passes thrown his way, and who did nothing even remotely significant on return duty, but ... Wilson, who has completed 2/3 of his passes for 3 TDs and 1 INT and a 110 rating, isn't going to amount to anything. Got it! At least you admit that Graham has only performed against backups. Again, you miss the point entirely though. Both played against similar competition, but first of all, QB is a much tougher position to master in the NFL, but Wilson has distinguished himself whereas, except to those that want to see it, Graham has not. Wilson's entire preseason has been excellent. Cousins too in more limited action. Graham's entire preseason value hinges on a single play, and not even against a cover oriented CB, rather a backup Safety. You don't see a difference still? Because that's what I think is interesting, people that extrapolate greatness from one play under those circumstances, but that routinely dismiss great play throughout by another. Otherwise, my greater point was that the Bills didn't need another role-playing project receiver with no college accolades, but they are going to need a QB, and really, need one right now, after Fitz gets the boot in 8 weeks.

It's been entirely against 2nd and 3rd teamers and players that will be cut in a few days. People need to distinguish that. Funny, because everyone that defends how this team is run always claims that the preseason doesn't matter, but I guess in this case it does. lol I will say this, if you're looking for that preseason success to translate equally to the regular season, then expect Graham to post a nice 800 yard season. I'll be surprised if he has 400 in a backup role. As I've said, he's played better than Graham in preseason, and while I think that Flynn starts the season there without any question, Wilson has certainly opened eyes. He's better than Flutie ever was. He also posted much better stats in college than Flutie and he's more athletic. My comparison has been to Graham, and I find it to be funny that you dismiss Wilson in the NFL for standard reasons, but that you don't apply those same standard reasons to why Graham will all but assuredly not be worth a 3rd round pick. Can you explain the gap in consistency of your argument and logic there? Dead balls accuracy analysis! Wilson would have fit in nicely as a Wildcat standard set tweener too.

Brady was a 6th. I agree somewhat on the 3rd round QB thing, but not nearly to the extent that you do. We'll see on those three as well. I completely disagree with you on Graham. There is no reason whatsoever to believe that he has a chance to become anything more than a 4th or 5th WR role player, and even then, he's got a few obstacles to overcome to even prove himself worth having around in that way. Again, the number of fast players that come into the NFL with limited or often no other skils, is very high and the odds of success so very low. And what do you mean by slot receiver? His sole asset is speed, that's not where you put a speed guy, in the slot, you line him up on the outside and send him flying and hope that your QB has the time, arm, and timing to get him the ball in stride, otherwise that speed advantage is neutralized. This isn't a 7-step drop OL either. That's why Fitzpatrick had near the bottom yards per attempt and completion last season, because just like it was for Holcomb and Edwards, and largely because of the OL, they had to create an offense designed around 3 and 5 step drops so that Fitzpatrick would have time to throw. If Graham ends up a starter, talk about long shots. Yikes. At NC State Graham had more than about 300 yards receiving in only one of four seasons and even then he had a very pedestrian 757 yards, most of which were against South Alabama, Cincinnati, Louisville, and Wake Forest. That's hardly impressive and now he's set to become a starting NFL WR? You may want to rethink that.

Tough to say with draft picks, some work out and some don't, but it sure seems like with the new passing favorable rules that rookie QBs have it a little bit easier. It's easy to sit here and say in hindsight that we should have grabbed this or that player, but they're all risks to some extent. Like you, I wouldn't have minded at all taking Cousins or Wilson, either one, in round 3, where they wouldn't have been a big risk, but my point is that we've seen receivers like Graham come and go routinely without ever making any impact whatsoever. There's more reason for the Pats to be excited over Demps who did a lot more at Florida than Graham did at NC State, but no one's making any bold predictions about that, which is somewhat amazing because it's the Pats and whenever Belichick picks his nose the media's there to see what carat size the diamond that comes out will be. To me though, ultimately it's just poor planning. We know that Young and Thigpen, or Smith, aren't the answer at QB, and we also know that Fitzpatrick isn't. Which leaves the cupboard bare at the most important position for the future. At least with a Cousins or Wilson on the roster there's some hope and a chance of something for the future. As it now stands we'll probably grab some other backup reject for the next few years after this season. Oh how exciting and encouraging.

You hit that nail right on the head. Also, ever notice that most of the Pats expected difficult games are usually at home?

I'll answer all three of you simultaneously. "TJ Graham's biggest asset is his ability to stretch defenses." What a yawner. If you knew how ridiculously cliched and overused that statement is you'd be ashamed to use it. "Kinda like how you already put Wilson there and know that TJ will be a bust? How about we let them play some games first." We don't know how good Wilson will be, but right now both he and Cousins, both available in the mid-3rd, and I was actually thinking Cousins even more, who was a rated 2nd/3rd unlike Graham who no one had going until the late round if at all, are both playing well, much better than Graham in a position that is far more difficult to learn in the NFL. We more than likely easily could have had Graham in the 4th, maybe even 5th or 6th. Otherwise no, we don't need to play any games to see how good Graham's going to be any more than we needed to see any to have realized that Hardy was a bust. Players like Graham are one-dimensional. All they bring is speed, and if you're not new to football, then you realize how little speed in and of itself translates to the NFL. (Clue: See CJ Spiller, the "blindingly fast RB" from GT) Otherwise, if Graham's so lightning fast, then what happened in college where he averaged a paltry 14.6 yards per catch over four years and had a total of 1,430 yards receiving total in four seasons? Are we supposed to believe that his speed did little for him in college, otherwise why the pathetically pedestrian average, but now at the pro level he's going to shake all that and beat players that he didn't beat in college? Have you looked at his game logs and asked yourself why he flunked in spades against the best (meaning really just above average) defenses in his own conference? Just asking because it doesn't seem like it. Anyway, so what we're supposed to believe now is that he couldn't get that done in college, against guys that didn't even get drafted, but that he's mysteriously going to get it done against the best that are in the NFL now? Because what I'm seeing is that of the 29 CBs drafted this year, he didn't have a good game against any one of those teams. Not that they would have assigned their best CB to him if he had. So while you say that I have "strong opinions," if you mean strongly researched, yes, I fully agree. I would argue that your opinions are all equally strong, yet without any evidence, since there is almost none given that players like him come and go like the leaves on the trees every season. Graham won't even be on this team in three seasons. It was a wasted 3rd round pick. He brings nothing but speed and he's a project in that way otherwise. I wouldn't be surprised if he's released before next season. Otherwise, we needed a QB, ... unless you're one of those people that actually believes Gailey, Mr. 10-22. LOL If Gailey were coaching the Browns you would all be laughing at him and his statements.

I completely agree. Or Cousins. TJ Graham is going to amount to a ridiculous 3rd round selection. His chances of succeeding at this level are remote other than as a 4th/5th role playing WR with very limited utility. Of course there are those here that already know he's going to be a hall of famer. lol I wouldn't have taken a QB in rounds 1 or 2, but you're right, in 3, rather than Graham, they should have gone with Wilson or Cousins.

A superb display of the all but nonexistent entry barriers to sports blogging.

Exactly. And he got beat by the rookie RGIII and the Skins' lackluster WRs at least once on their TD drive too. Granted, it's his second season and he obviously deserves a full season of starts, but there is definitely room for concern. There should be no questioning why he is being criticized though apart from that.

LOL Yes, how I have no basis to stand on given the last ten years of occurrences at OBD and their string of success is really laughable.

They'd obviously seen enough. Did you really think he'd make 53-man cuts? I don't understand why everyone's so surprised. They had hiim marked for DE where he's a tweener at best. With Bradham and Carder in the mix they no longer need a veteran project like him at LB where they have Barnett, Sheppard, Moats, and Morrison otherwise, and for who as not good as a few of them are they're no worse than Merriman was. This is one of those links between what the team was saying and reality. Again, talk is cheap, don't listen to the team, they have no credibility. Think and decide independently. And by the way, we'll see how "good" he really is based on the number of teams that rush to grab him off waivers tomorrow.

Or maybe he really wasn't that good and between not being able to take PEDs and injuries couldn't be very good. He's only 28, mid prime, so if he had a thing left, then I'm sure they'd have kept him for this season's big playoff run.

Yeah, funny how that works, huh. LOL Could be the staff.

A perfect example of why talk is cheap. All we "heard" was how good he looked. He'd become a veteran project. He sucks and has sucked for years. They also don't need him as a DE which is where they were going to use him and they have depth there, much better depth. There may be another reason, but ultimately, that's why, because they have several "Merrimans" on the team that don't have the injury history as a ball-and-chain. With Bradham and Carder, and whomever loses the other OLB starting job, either Moats or Merriman, they also don't need the issue-laden Merriman either. This is a perfect example of why not to believe anything coming from team or fan sources in the preaseason. All 32 teams appear to be headed for at least a .500 season right now.

He has been at least somwhat of a liability in both preseason games. We'll see how much that means in the regular season. Last season he was OK, but not average or above average by any means. ProFootballFocus discusses him here in their preseason preview - http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/08/02/32-teams-in-32-days-buffalo-bills/ I agree with the coverage grade that they gave him, generally speaking, below average, based on what we saw last season. He only started 6 games. You may or may not subscribe to the way that they do their stats, but mathematically speaking, they do as good a job as anyone could given that stats don't always tell the full story. Funny though, stats sure seem to be telling quite the story regarding Mario though. Either way, take it fwiw, but he's got something to prove this season, and so far in preseason, the way that both teams have had no difficulty passing, the very first place to point a finger is at the Cornerbacks. Gilmore too may be good in camp vs. the likes of Roosevelt and Naaman, but in two preseason games he has looked less than fantastic too from what we can see on TV. Both are going to have to step up in a big big way if this team is really going to make the playoffs. The can generate all the pass pressure that they want to, but if the WRs are constantly able to make big plays, that's a net loser. They shouldn't have cut Florence. I have no idea why they did. He wasn't great either, but he was capable of starting and providing adequate play at CB. All they'll need this season is adequate play at CB and LB. Will they get it?

It's true. And the Titanic had a very nice last voyage except for some minor water leakage issues. I'll bet that you can't name three impact players that were injured on the Bills last season? I'll start you off: Woods K. Williams I don't count McGee because he's literally injured more than he's not and if the team's relying on him then shame on them, he's a self-fulfilling prophecy regarding injuries. Name one other impact player that went out for the majority of the season? Many of the players on last season's injury list were hurt in preseason or in camp even, and a bunch wouldn't have even made the team otherwise. They were backups. Meanwhile, look at teams like Houston who made the playoffs w/o Schaub and Mario. Did the Bills have players like that missing? No. The injury thing is highly overrated if all you have are depth players on IR. The Bills problem wasn't depth. Their whole roster is depth caliber players. The problem is and was starters. Even this season they're starting at least one OLB spot w/ a player more suited to depth. Sheppard may turn out to be nothing but a depth player as well, he wasn't very good last season. They have mystery meat at CB, both spots. Fitz has been a backup and the experiment to try to turn him into a starter is coming to an end this season. Half the OL are depth players. Glenn's mystery meat. All of the WRs and TEs besides Johnson are depth players. The assumption with this injuries argument is that the team would have been good and made the playoffs if not for the injuries. I'm just curious which playoff caliber players were on IR last season? As to Gailey, the man's a dunce. I'll say it now, this is his last season head-coaching in the NFL, as it should be. If he makes it to next season it's only because there's not enough heat on Nix.

Do you have any idea how silly this post is going to seem if we don't post a winning record much less make the playoffs? As to fans that you claim have given up, don't you think that the burden of proof is on "Buddy" (as if he's your pal) and Gailey to first post a winning season much less a playoff appearance before you (or anyone else) give him credit? And what if he doesn't, then what? On a more concrete note, what in your mind are the big differences from a talent perspective, player by player, on this team from last season to this? Obviously Mario replaces Dwan Edwards at RDE, check. Anderson's not a 3-down DE so he won't replace anyone, he'll rotate in despite the fact that he'll start. He replaces Kelsay, which may be a step down in the running game. The LBs are the same since Morrison and Moats are the two players which will start at OLB after Barnett and Sheppard. Neither started last year and that's not much of an endorsement for the rookies Bradham and Carder whom I hoped would start but apparently aren't good enough to beat out those two. A rookie replaces Florence at starting CB opposiite Williams who wasn't that good last season. The Ss stay the same. Williams (Kyle) comes back healthy, which will help. The offense is just about exactly the same and sucked after the first few weeks when Gailey's new system was exposed. He doesn't have a new system this season to start so opponents know exactly what to expect except for maybe some Wildcat which hasn't helped any team significantly to the point where few even use it anymore. Not Gailey and the Bills though, they're too sharp for that. They know better too. LOL Anyway, I'm just trying to sort through why those that think that this is a playoff team actually believe that? Or are they just saying that? I really want to believe it, really, I do! But there just isn't enough on the table to get me (and obviously many other fans) to buy in. Right now everyone is talking about how Buddy Nix has done this great job when there's no one even from his first Draft that starts. His 6th round pick Moats might, but what does that say about his LBs drafted this season? Nothing. And we all know that Moats isn't a playoff caliber LB. And after cuts Moats and Spiller may be the only two players from that draft still even on the team. Carrington might make it as a 3rd teamer. It's easy to say "Nix has done a great job," or "They've improved this season," but until that shakes out that way it's nothing but more cheap talk. Anyone can say it and anyone does. It's just as easy to say that the Bills will win the Super Bowl. Suppose the team goes 6-10 again, or just 7-9, obviously missing the playoffs again and obviously another losing season to further along the notion that the Bills are the worst team in the new millenium, well over a decade now. What then? Are you still going to be singing their praises? This is exactly why the team gets away with what it gets away with from fans, because instead of fans calling Wilson and his GMs on making stupid and cheap decisions, there are just enough alongside a talking head bobble-headed yes-men media to talk, that's talk, about how things are changing and improving. This is like Groundhog Day for Bills fans. We all have to sit here and read and listen to how great the Bills are finally going to be when they can't even post a winning season. Then all the same people that patted Tom Donahoe and Marv Levy on the back prematurely turned into people with pails of tar and feathers for them when things didn't go right. You say you're looking forward to "shutting people up," but how about you? What are you going to say if the people you're now defending don't produce the kind of season that you're talking about? I'm not saying that you should, but at that time, will you then shut up since you wouldn't have been more wrong? Again, not suggesting that you should since free speech applies to all, but if anyone should, it should be you and everyone else that holds the same views, wouldn't you say? Otherwise, why do you and others have such an issue with people coming here to discuss and rant over the woes of the team? Especially when your type has been wrong for well over a decade now. Just curious. Otherwise, I'm just not seeing why a GM/Head-Coach combination that has gone 10-22 over the last two seasons, 5th worst in the NFL in front of only Cleveland, Minnesota, Tampa, and St. Louis, should be given credit for anything. If anything the pressure should be on to get them to have to have a winning season or they're out. That kind of position doesn't jibe well with the fact that they're headed for the playoffs. On most teams, a GM and his selection for Head Coach in their third season are generally considered to be on the hot seat. Why not these two clowns? I can still see it though, they'll be heralded as geniuses if they can eke out an 7-9 record and not make the playoffs because they'll have "improved" and have the team moving forward. Whatever

A rookie will also start at CB. You forgot a novice set of CBs. Aaron Williams has everything to prove and Glimore is a rookie. Like most of our 1st round Draft picks, if he amounts to something we should be ecstatic. They have 6 starts between them. It hardly bodes well for making the playoffs. Here's a good article on why that and the fact that the LT may be Glenn (a rookie) makes our making the playoffs unlikely - http://www.profootballweekly.com/2012/07/04/bills-counting-on-rookies-at-crucial-positions Brady doesn't hurt the Bills' chances directly, but as long as he's on the Pats and his arm is OK, they'll win the division, which means that it leaves us fighting not only Miami and the Jets, but the rest of the AFC for one of two WC spots. You talked about Wanny but didn't mention Gailey. Gailey's 4-12 and 6-10 with a team that was 6-10 when he got it and 7-9 for three seasons prior to that. Why is everyone talking about him as if he knows what he's doing? Yours is an accurate list however. Here's another very objective piece discussing some of the same things - http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/08/02/32-teams-in-32-days-buffalo-bills/ i disagree w/ them on Sheppard, and I still think he needs a lot of improvement to be playing well enough to help us get to the playoffs. Barnett is the only above average LB we have. I was really hoping that Bradham or Carder would be able to start, but seeing that Moats and Morrison are battling for that spot isn't encouraging. If anything they should have thought about moving Barnett into the middle because of his experience and the fact that they have good pass rush now off the edges on the DL. Simply put, there are way too many holes. Some of the media talk like Mario filled them all. He filled one, that's it.

Not much argument to what you posted, but at the same time, your rationale hardly promises that Gailey and the team will be ready to face the Jets on the road in week one. Not doing something is not a reason why something else will happen. If this were the Saints floundering against the Jags then that would be one thing, but this is the Bills, the team with the greatest futility in recent history.

I'd hardly say that he did a great job, but I agree, rookie Glenn vs. arguably the most prolific DE in the game today, hardly a reason to panic on Glenn's play. Ironically, that's exactly what people are expecting for Gilmore though.

One of the things that perplexes me is how everyone claims that the preseason games don't mean anything, but then they extrapolate the play of former starting players against 2nd and 3rd team players to mean something positive. If Young has to come in on any kind of a regular basis, then it won't be good news. He's had chance after chance after chance to prove himself in the NFL and now, on his third team in as many years, he's failed to do that. I hear ya on him being able to come in, and he may have some limited value there, but if he has to start, it won't be good. The other thing is that he and Fitz are such different QBs. Trying to put Young in Fitz's shoes in the same system to me says that those trying to do that don't know what they're doing, so naturally it makes people wonder about why Young is even here if it's not to play a lot of Wildcat. And if that's the case, then may heaven help us.

Was that a feat? Seems to me that the Bills have sucked since Young's been in the league. They haven't had a winning season the whole time. Maybe Young was able to help the Titans beat the Bills because we sucked. Gailey's supposed to be the offensive mastermind, remember.