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If the games don't count against the season's overall record, then I can guarantee you Bill Belicheck looks at them strictly as an opportunity for experimenting with plays, and with getting plays down - more or less a practice time. He knows he's got to run effectively, and they'll be up to that task. New England is a tough team when Brady and Belicheck and there, and they are anything but predictable. I hate 'em. And, I've been saying this for a few years now, IF YOU'RE GOING TO BEAT THE PATRIOTS, YOU'VE GOT TO PRESSURE BRADY CONSTANTLY!!! The Bills, over the last three or four years, have given the Patriots a little trouble here and there - and it's because of Schobel. He had Brady's number. So, however we have to do it, we had better be knocking him all over the place this season. If we can manage that, then we can beat them. And, I do think we'll be stout against the run this year. Maybe vulnerable to quick outside runners, but the Pat's don't really have that speed there too much.

I didn't read the article, but didn't the Cowboys pick the kid up as an UDFA? If he's available I just cannot believe we haven't given the kid a shot. He was considered a potential 1st round talent, and with the absence of any really proven talent at tackle, the kid would probably be an instant starter for us at RT, and maybe be ready for LT duties in a year. Sure, he made that mistake, but I'm pretty sure he'd not do anything again, having faced the shame of it this long and hard, I'd bet he'd be a positive influence for the other guys.

You know... this isn't that bad of an idea, IMO. Hangartner was a Guard at Carolina, and was supposed to be a tough, hard playing center to deal with these monster NT's we have in this division. In my opinion he hasn't lived up to expectations. We get blown up through the middle not too infrequently. He's not the worst, but he hasn't been as good as I hoped he would've been. What was the thinking originally? That a back-up Guard at Carolina would be able to be a major upgrade for us at Center - why? because Guard is so much harder to play than center? What if Wood is a pro-bowl/all-pro Center, and Hangartner is a decent RT - would that be better for us than Wood being a good, above average RT, and Hangartner being an average Center? I like Wood going to Center. I think we'd have a real strong left side then, and I think we could just pull Hangartner over to RG, or move Howard there... anyway, it's worth a try, and I'm glad they're looking at it.

I've also wondered a lot about the special teams apparent lack of focus and organization. It must have been a lot to have had such a good, proven coach coaching them in a specific way leave, to be replaced by a guy who now has to prove to these guys that his system is as good or better - or in their eyes, why did April leave? I don't know how simple or complicated S.T.'s coaching is - how different can it be from one team to the next? But I wondered if there wasn't just a little lag from the switch that is evident, or if it's just the preseason and this team as a whole is keeping it's formations under wraps? As for the OLB's, we definately need some pressure from them this year. More importantly, I think, we need them to hold up in the run game. Once again, I think we're seeing almost nothing of what we'll see when the real games begin. I think Gailey is the kind of coach who will want to capitalize on the advantage of having all this mystery surrounding his team. As it is, through two preseason games, I don't think an opposing coach would know much at all about what to expect. I like Ellis on the outside - he looks big and bad. I think he'll be starting for us this year. I was hoping Batten would be, but that's not happening. So, I think we'll see Ellis and Mitchell on the outside - and that would work o.k., I think, because Mitchell can blitz alright and Ellis looks good against the run. As for WR - I think Easley being lost is bigger than most would expect. Just because he was a rookie not a lot of people gave him serious chances of being the number two - but I think he would have been in there a lot had he stayed healthy. He's got that speed that we don't have with Johnson. So, I think Nelson will give us that, and we'll see a lot of three wide sets with Nelson, Johnson, and Evans.

I like the idea. New Orleans is looking to add a quality running back, I'd bet. Maybe offer a fourth and the back we would cut anyway? I'd like us to keep Lynch, Jackson, Spiller, and Bell - but, I don't think we'll keep four active RB's. If we were to put Bell on the P.S. then I think a team will scoop him up - so, in that scenario I'd much rather see us offer up something we will probably lose to get more potential talent in an area we could use it at. Also, I think Gailey likes the Saints offense and will have a similar style of play - which might make a QB groomed in that system appealing to us.

There are things to consider in that scenario - it sounds like the poster really just likes the Texas QB. I read awhile back an article that listed all the offensive linemen becoming free agents next year. We can walk away from next year's F.A. with any of our line problems fixed without having to rely on the draft. That, by the way, is a strategy I'd like to see employed. That way you know what you're getting, and you can assemble a sound line that has the ability to function well for years to come - and then the QB play cannot be blamed on poor blocking. So, I say draft a QB, and trade up to get the best one available, and then our QB problems should be fixed for the next decade. You look at the best teams in the NFL - teams like Indy, N.E., Saints, San Diego, Baltimore, Vikings, Green Bay - they all have the franchise QB. It's just something we need to have - not a mediocre one like we've had for the last ten years, but the best one available, one we can build around. We can fix this offense and make it a powerhouse in one more offseason if the F.O. wants it badly enough. QB - first round. LT and or G/C - F.A.. And find the missing type of WR and TE in the draft and F.A. It can be done, and should be. I really believe we should have just about all our team holes filled after next offseason, so if they were to merely focus on one side of the ball, there should be no excuses for not seeing a great unit either on offense or defense by the end of 2011.

Ahhh... to see Brohm against the Bengals starters - who handled McNabb's replacement, and who the Bills would've traded away a second rounder for, would be a good measuring stick for him. If he could do well in that scenario, where their Defense would be a lot like a meaningful NFL game - and a good team defense at that - then we could say that he might be just as capable of being a good QB in the NFL as the Eagles Kolb, and everyone is already saying that the Eagles are a playoff team. I guess you could say the same of Trent Edwards. The thing is, if Edwards stinks against the Bengals, what chance then do we have of seeing Brohm against meaningful adversaries? I guess we just have to trust the coaching staff to know better than we do who will be the best option for the Bills this year... but, if I had a say I'd like to see more of Brohm. I like his arm, and I like his attitude a lot better than Edwards. He's just not believable in the role of a leader, of a tough guy. He comes across to me as a wuss.

I have liked Steve Johnson since he's been here. But, seeing him these past few weeks, I've come away with one thought standing out the most: he seems slow. Like T. Owens slow - at least, Owens looked slow last year running his routes, but he's quick enough to get it done. I don't know how fast or quick Johnson is really - has anyone else thought this? As for being number two, I agree that we'll probably not have the stereotypical number whatever recievers this year. I think we'll see Evans lining up where number two or three recievers line up at times, in order to try to get him more involved. I can see us just having a lot of different formations and groups of recievers out there to try to confuse the defense. And really, with the guys we have, each offering something different, there will be times and places to use them all. It reminds me of the Saints last year - three or four of their recievers were good enough and fast enough to be considered a one, and they all made big plays, and you never knew where it was going to go. I'd like for our offense to look like that - spread the ball around.

I was really impressed with Brohm when he played against the Colts. Of the three fighting for the starters job, I think Brohm looked like the most promising. He looked like he could offer the Bills the most, looked faster by a long ways than Edwards in his drop from the center, and the way he passes the ball, he makes all the throws with zip on the ball and they look effortless. I'd say he just needs to prove a mental grasp of the offense, of reading the defense, and an ability to be accurate, and there will be nothing keeping him out of the starters spot. Edwards didn't look bad. He had the nice long pass and some other completions. I can't say he was bad, I just can't watch him yet and not think, "when is he going to have a brain fart and collapse on us like last year." If that doesn't happen, then he could be good for us. Fitz didn't look as good to me in his time as Edwards and Brohm did this past week. I'd guess Gailey will want to see Brohm play more with the first team offense against first team defenses, and see Edwards more, too. If he's going to give Fitz any more time it will probably come more in the fourth preseason game. So, I'm guessing Brohm gets his shot next week with the ones - maybe Edwards doesn't play the full half as starters usually do in the third preseason game.

Yeah, in regards Spiller - he actually looks pretty big out there. The first handoff he was given, or the second, took three colts to drag him down. I don't see a little fast guy out there like Chris Johnson. This kid is solid, but quick.

We just have to wait and see how our guys play. One thing that is curious about our draft - which I liked a lot - was how other teams rated Troupe. San Diego grabbed Thomas with the 5th round pick of theirs and he's looking really good. Better than Troupe, thus far. Were there LT candidates at our 2nd round pick that could have been upgrades for us? I'd bet there were a few... and that would be big, because we could've then moved Demetrius to RT and had a solid line. Or, even a really good Guard, and we could've moved Wood to Center and not had to worry about the interior of our line, and had a better running game for it. Hangartner is going to have to play much better this year, against some good Defensive linemen, if we want to do anything offensively. People always mention the tackles and pressure, but we will see much of it from the inside, if he doesn't play better for us this year.

I actually think we went a way toward filling our defense this year. We have Carrington, Troupe, Williams on the D-line that are young - and Dwan Edwards still has three years in him at least, if he doesn't get injured. On the linebacking corps, we have Batten, Moats, Coleman, who are rookies, and Maybin who is rookie aged. Then we have Poz, who is young. There's five guys who could play for another 8-10 years. Over the course of the next two seasons we'll probably add an OLB and a DE, but otherwise, on defense I think we did well this year to prepare for a run. On offense, as young as we are, we still need two good tackles, and maybe a good center, or move Wood to center and get another guard, so, either way, next year we should bring in three new O-linemen - and that would give us a young line that could play together for a decade. We'll need a QB - which I think we grab with our 1 pick. we'll need a WR, even though I really like our group of young WR's - Nelson, Jones, Roosevelt, and Steve Johnson - I think adding one electrifying WR would be nice. If we don't, though, and if our young WR's show promise this year, it's not too big - our guys just need to show they can get open this year. So, on offense, we need QB, (2) Tackles, C, WR - 4 or 5 guys. Thats about six or seven upgrades. You figure we can add an upgrade at QB, and three other positions in a good draft. That leaves another year of draft, or really outstanding later round picks, or F.A.'s. I wouldn't be surprised if we grabbed a free agent LT next year, after seeing the list of the available ones to sign next year. In fact, we could fix our O-line problems with free agency next year, get our QB with the 1 pick, our OLB with our 2 or any combination of picks to get a good one, and maybe get a talented WR or DE with the 3 pick. In all, next year's season will really be the test we need to see how good this front office and coaching staff is. This season will be a foundation year, a get to know the talent on the roster year. We have a lot of young players. If they do a stellar job of free agency and drafting next year, and coach well, there's no reason to think we can't be a playoff team again in 2011 and be good thereafter for years.

I thought Spiller looked o.k. in the pre-season opener. He had some bad blocking plays, maybe some messed up assignments there, but he ran pretty good for having nothing to speak of for an O-line. I think he looked faster than any of our other backs. But - and I know we've got them hurt now, but still - Jackson creates some real problems for defenses, although he's not as fast as Spiller, he does have speed and elusiveness and the ability to break tackles, and he can catch. Lynch, too, is a beast in his own right, being maybe the least quick of the bunch, but also a very unpredictable runner who can run over people, and who can find his way around or over six or seven defensemen on his way to the endzone. So, as good as Spiller looked this time, his counterparts looked every bit as good, and that seems to lead us to the conclusion that this first round pick will be a complimentary RB for a while. I hope he ends up meaning more than that, and I think he's very capable and special - I just think we have some other special RB's also, and an apparent lack of special O-linemen.

That's a pretty good question: who will lead the Bills in sacks this year? Someone has to have that honor. Do most teams have a clear cut favorite, I wonder? I was thinking earlier today that we as Bills fans were really spoiled with that 4 year run of SB's. For a while we didn't know what a crappy team was like - getting used to H.O.F's like Bruce Smith, Kelly, and Levy. Anyway, I'd love to say Maybin will take the torch, but I don't think he will. A linebacker seems the likeliest place to find a sack leader in the 3-4, so I'll have to go with Mitchell or Ellis. Then Maybin or Batten. I think Kyle Williams will give us 4 or 5, and I think Carrington will give us 4 or 5 more, too. So, my guess is Mitchell or Ellis gets 8 sacks and leads the team.

I thought the first team offense looked o.k. during the first half of the first quarter. I haven't seen past that yet, but it looked like we were planning on being a run as much as possible team that finds creative ways to get the WR's the ball just enough so we can run some more. I've wondered since the draft what our coaches and GM were thinking in regards the O-line and QB, and it looks like we are going to have to just accept the team for what it is, as limited as it is offensively and defensively, until they can draft the guys they want in there at crucial positions. At least, that is the message I'm reading from the front office - that they're planning on drafting the answer to their problems at QB, LT - and whatever else needs be replaced; and, by all accounts so far, if they deem the draft to have better value at, say, CB, even though we already have a good secondary, then we just have to accept their plan - and I know that sounded like a barb, but I just am looking at the Redskins who got the coach we were after, then the QB we were after, and then they handed it to us - I know you can build a good team through the draft, but it takes two or three years, depending on where you started, and we started with some real holes in our roster... So, what's hard to accept is the years waiting. But, we'll be good eventually. Just hope we're still the Buffalo Bills by then.

You know, I'm not sure I would be looking to bring Whitner back unless it was at a fairly reasonable price. That's a good question - if Whitner explodes this year, what do the Bills do? My guess is they just franchise him. If he has a great year it could signify that the previous system just wasn't a fit for him, because, as much as he's been decent, he hasn't been winning games, either. With Byrd the coaching staff will want to keep as good a tandem as they can, I just don't see them spending top 5 safety money on Whitner - assuming he has a great year and presses for a big payday. We have Wilson and Scott - two good safeties, either of which I wouldn't mind seeing play. Scott is a solid run support safety, and Wilson is getting to be very good in pass protection, although I like Wilson all around. Wilson is still pretty new at his position, which makes his performance last year - and he's been consistently performing better week in and out, suggesting he's no fluke - all the more incredible. I think we have the best safety group in the NFL. We've got Byrd, who when healthy could get 6-10 interceptions a year, and Wilson had 4 last year in limited duty, I think he's good for 4-6 interceptions a year, too. Add Whitner for being capable of maybe 3-5 a year, and that's a lot of ball hawking for that position (taking liberties with those estimates). Certainly, getting some pressure on the QB in the form of OLB play will be a top priority for this staff if our OLB's don't produce at a high level this year. That might be the last piece to a very good defense.

The O-line is worrisome. They've got to be thinking of picking up a guy or two (good luck finding quality, though I hope they do), because as it is now their starters might be o.k. - but if they're not, would any of us be surprised? - but an injury to LT or Center might really tank them, and even a Guard injury or RT injury might be too much. They're just so green and apparently without a lot of talent on this O-line, it's hard to imagine what they might of told themselves this offseason other than, "we can lose this year and get our guys next year". I don't want to think that, so here's hoping that the line proves better than advertised come game days. Moats being third on the depth chart really surprised me. I'm not one of the people who've been harping on our LB corps, because I like the young guys like Batten, Moats, and Coleman, and I like Mitchell, Davis, Poz, and am hopeful for Maybin. I'm also thinking that if our WR's this year don't prove to be better than people think - it's possible that D. Jones, Easley, or S. Johnson, or Chad Jackson turn out to be good; but how many more years before Evans is no longer a legitimate weapon? Sure, he'll be good for another five years, probably, but we haven't had a really good WR opposite him - someone who should be a #1, so that Evans can take advantage of other team's second corner. Otherwise, I think the Defense will be really good this year - top 10, and I think Carrington will be starting next year. I'm loving the rotation of Troupe and Williams at NT. Contrary to what a lot of people think, I bet it will be one of our strengths. Obviously our running game is going to be lights out. I hope Levi Brown and Brohm end up being competition for Edwards, otherwise that either indicates Edwards is back to his best form, or we're in trouble there.

So many people get bashed here for posting anything - it's like there are people waiting for someone to say anything at all, just so they can say how stupid they are and how terrible the Bills will be this year. Come on. I agree with the original notion - that the Bills should use quick strike passing to neutralize their poor O-line. The team that comes to mind the most - New Orleans. Watching them play I always thought, man, why can't our QB and WR's do that? It seemed like we were always throwing to a WR who was, more or less, waiting to catch it, rather than going and getting the ball. I know Gailey will have his own style of play, but I think when you look at our roster, he's looking to emulate the Saints offense in ways, with the type of recievers we have, and now Spiller, and our line isn't that great and theirs isn't the best, either. Green Bay comes to mind, too. As for Gailey not showing much in the pre-season, I'm thinking the same. I suspect he won't be showing much of what we're going to look like, formation wise, until the home opener. And I'm liking this approach. I like the mentality of taking people by surprise - it kind of implies doing things different from week to week, and being able to attack other teams weaknesses, or make them figure you out. That is a big part of why I hold out hope for our team this year, because I suspect Gailey will have us competitive merely by playing to our strengths and keeping opponents on their toes.

I thought Stupar looked great in last year's preseason, and I couldn't figure out why we didn't play him more when he was healthy. Our recievers coach said, recently, that there are guys who look good in practice but who don't show up as much on game day, and then there are guys who don't stand out as much in practice but who show up big time on game day. Stupar seems to very often be making big plays. I like it.

For one, it's the early preseason. For two, its Dallas they're playing. I didn't watch any of Cinci's games last year, but could their predominant run selection be partly due to a lack of ability to protect Palmer? The thing that sticks out to me here more than anything is how stacked the Cowboys are on offense. WOW!!! They lose their probowl LT, and they two replacements that look ok. They're 3 deep at TE, their 4th WR might be good enough to be a 2 on some teams, they've got 3 good RB's and their 2nd string QB could be a starter on a few NFL teams... those boys are loaded. It's incredible to see them that good and to know they might only be the 3rd best team in the NFC. I sure hope Bell and Meredith play good for us this year.

I've got to imagine that Edwards has been told, or that it's been implied, that this is perhaps his last chance to have a real chance at starting in the league. Certainly, if he messes it up this year we'll be drafting a guy next. Probably he'd have to have a remarkable year to avoid drafting a guy next year. So, factor in the coaching and help that's available, the motivation, we will see Edwards best football this year one way or the other.

I was reading a post over on BuffaloRumblings by Sergeant Major Thor about Nix maybe having a real plan - it being rather a two year plan and not a one year one - which puts this year's draft in real perspective; if he were looking at it with a two year scope, then why would he have grabbed a OT or a QB at the top of this draft when next year he'll have some very highly touted QB's coming out, and a bunch of O-linemen being freed up from contracts as F.A.'s, not to mention at other postitions. So, we grabbed what were deep areas in the draft, what were positions of need for us considering what will be available this and next year, and you have a two year plan that puts the Bills in position to compete for a championship after next offseason, and which will leave the team with a core of players that will be together for four plus years, ready to make a long run. Check out the post at BuffaloRumblings, titled, Buddy Nix Sly as a Fox, and see for yourself all the players becoming free after this season - it's a ton! I like this notion more and more, because I've felt since he came and after the draft that he was planning on a two year rebuild, based on what he drafted, where our needs were, and what we could seemingly fill next offseason - after which time it'll be replacing and upgrading through the draft, which is how it should be - reloading.

You don't hope to lose. You play the very best you can, and you see where the team is weakest, and you fix it with the draft and free agency. I agree that if there is a franchise QB, then you trade up to get him, or a LT, or whatever it is. You can walk away from an offseason with two or three positional upgrades - even if it includes QB and LT. We can accept they didn't go crazy this year because the new staff had to see what it had first, before it traded for a player only to find out it already had a good one at that position. So, they went safe and just grabbed the most talented player available. But, going into next season, if we know we still need a QB and LT, and maybe a LB and WR - we trade up, we spend on free agents, we do whatever - and we don't leave available talent that we need as an upgrade out there. (I still can't believe we didn't go after Tony Washington - the college LT who had a thing with his sister once when he was 16 - he was supposed to have a first round talent and went undrafted - and the Cowboys grabbed him). The one thing that might hurt that scenario is if there is a rookie wage scale implemented and the lack of super high first round money doesn't deter better teams from trading up, also. Either way, we do what we have to and can do to make the team as good as possible. Of course, if there are like seven or more legitimate holes, then you might not be able to fill that in an offseason. But, I'm hoping we have enough talent that three or four seriously talented players will put us up there with the better teams. Maybe we won't need that much! Maybe we'll surprise us all this year!

I was looking forward to Roscoe getting a shot with this offense, too, and am still. I wonder why not have, in a four WR set, two slots, one on each side of the line - so you'd see Evans and Johnson or Hardy (I like Easley already as an up-and-coming WR, but I think he'll be brought along slowly) on the outside, Spiller and Parrish on the inside, have five man line, QB and either Jackson or Lynch. I think getting as many of these ultra-quick WR's our there at once will really cause defenses fits - think about it: not only are Parrish and Spiller super fast, but they're good in space, being fully capable of going the distance at any time, any place - they've got to be accounted for. Then you've got Easley, Evans, and Chad Jackson who are all also 4.3 guys. That's a lot of dangerous guys running around, which makes me think we'll have room to run, and that we'll find success there, and then, consequently, we'll see some big plays with playaction passes or just blown coverage. We're going to see big plays on offense this year. I read a recent comparison to New Orleans offense, and using spread more. Our O-line is not proven enough yet to allow us a real fully developed, unencumbered look at what our offense could be, but I do suspect we could come out surprising people, and that our coaches have modeled a team with recievers (considering our speed, and the rookies we picked up) with the dangerous, score from anywhere look that the Rams had, and Saints... but we'll have, also, a very solid, smash 'em or run around 'em running game. It's so promising but for the O-line and QB play. I think I'm going to look up and see if I can find any history for the good O-lines of today, and if any came from relative nowhere like ours might. It would certainly look so muc different if we picked up a proven LT, a young one, and we could move Bell to RT, have Meredith for backup, along with Wand and Green, and have Levitre, Hangartner, and Wood... I'd love to see Wood at center, with Hangartner a backup, and move maybe Ramsey or Howard move to RG... either way, the line would all of a sudden be strong, and could play together for four, five years... and all we'd need then is good QB play, either by one of our current guys, or if we got our franchise QB in next year's draft, then we'd have the making of an exciting, young offense to look forward to for half a decade or more - I'm liking the Nix two year plan!

I think a lot of people on this board are hesitant to predict success with the Bills because, well, we've been let down so much any optimism in the recent past has proven unfounded. But, other teams have found success with similar changes, just as quickly as we would like to see. We do, in fact, have players to fit the system - Nix and Gailey aren't going into this season with linebackers undersized or too slow for the position; it's just that some of the linebackers are used to playing DE in 4-3; but, again, that is not uncommon for other teams. I've listed these guys - I'll do it again: Stroud, Carrington, Edwards, Troupe, Williams (who is the same size as Cowboys NT, and who would be picked up by most NFL teams if he were free), Mitchell, Poz, Maybin (who, granted, might be a bust), Moats, Coleman, Batten, Kelsay (who, at the least, is surely big enough for a run stuffing OLB), Torber, Andra Davis - there's enough talent in that front seven to be good, depending on down and distance, with the right personnel on the field, to be good against the run and the pass. Sure, it might not happen. But, I'm saying we have enough guys now - Mitchell, Moats, Poz, and Davis are good enough for the middle. On the outside, I think Batten, Mitchell (if he's put there, he's shown to be a good blitzer), Kelsay - against the run, Torbor - he's decent enough... who knows about Coleman and the other rookies, but I can recall good 3-4 defenses with merely decent linebackers. So, I'm saying I think, considering our secondary, and our defensive line - who I really like this year, especially Troupe, Carrington (who I think is going to turn out to be a steal), Williams, and Edwards. I think we'll end up around 10 in the league.