hondo in seattle

Holy George Jetson, Astro! I've got to admit you're a much bigger fan than I am - getting into researched speculations about who the Bills will bring in as camp fodder.

I get what you're saying but that's a harsh take on CTE.

I've heard former Raven and Jet players express their love for Rex. I don't sense the same type of love from Bills players. My guess, based admittedly on scant - but consistent - evidence, is that Rex lost his drive and probably did delegate and relax too much during his tenure with the Bills. It wasn't a complete disaster. We might have finished 8-8 if we played Tyrod in the season finale. A number of NFL teams were worse than the Bills. But Rex was not performing at peak and I suspect the players sensed it.

I think we tend to discount articles based on bad sources when they don't fit our own narratives. I think we believe them when they fit the picture we've already formed in our minds. And that, I'm guessing, is what's happening here. I think a lot of us want to believe Rex was a dysfunctional coach because that would imply the talent on the roster was better than 7-9. So maybe McD has enough to work with to lead us to the playoffs. I don't have a high opinion of sport media. I think a writer in NY may indeed considered a BN writer "a well-placed source." If the source was inside the organization, I think he probably would have said so. But, you're right, the source could be a very good one. Maybe a player. I just wouldn't make an assumption one way or the other. There's been other hints that the D was screwed up by too many cooks in the kitchen, players receiving contradictory instructions, etc. So I do think there's probably a core of truth to the article. But I think the 'run of the place' and 'co-head coach' remarks are maybe over the top. But who knows? This would be funny. Rex spreads the story that he fell on his own sword in an effort to save his brothers career. "I love my brother and wanted to give him a chance to reestablish himself." Fraternal loyalty at it's finest! Rex isn't actually a bad coach. He's a selfless, suffering altruist!

When I saw the title of the thread my first thought was Miller. Not impressed by him his rookie season. I was pleasantly surprised by his improvement last year. I guess it's too much to hope that Mills will show that much improvement from '16 to '17.

EJ has a career passer rating of 77.5. TJ Yates has a career passer rating of 72.8. Just saying.

The Brinson CBS story is based on a Gary Meyers/NY Daily News article that states in part: According to a well-placed source, Rex Ryan basically dedicated the 2016 season to resurrecting the reputation of his brother Rob, who most recently had been fired by the Cowboys and Saints. Rob was not the Bills defensive coordinator but had the run of the place... http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/report-rex-ryan-gave-brother-rob-run-of-the-place-during-bills-disastrous-2016/ The "well-placed source" is someone with some unspecified connection to the Bills. It could be Sully. Or an OBD landscaper. Or DW's barber. We don't know. The story might be completely true. Or partly true. Or not true at all. We don't know that either. We all seem to want to believe the worst of Rex now that he's gone. But I like to have credible sources before I form an opinion. And in this case, I just don't care.

Why would Seattle, a very smart team that knows Sherman best, be willing to let him go and potentially replace him with a rookie from this year's draft? Because 10 aging core players command 60% of their cap allotment. And none of them play offensive line. If I recall correctly, Seattle had the lowest paid OL in the NFL last year and paid the price. To stay relevant, and spend appropriately by position, they need to jettison some big contracts. Do you think you know more than Schneider? Nope. I think he knows a thousand times more than me and the average fan. But situations dictate decisions. Trading Sherman away might make sense for the 'Hawks. If Schneider was GM of the Bills he'd probably be trying to acquire Sherman. Different situation. What makes Sherman more valuable to the Bills than to the Seahawks? He's not necessarily. It's all about opportunity cost and cost-benefit analysis. It might be a bit easier for the Bills to bear the cost of Sherman's contact than it is for the 'Hawks who would get a much cheaper rookie (draft pick) in return.

I'm with papazoid. Some mocks have us, for example, taking Deshaun Watson in the first round. And he could work out. Then again, the probability is that Watson would never become a starter. Whoever we draft at that position is a crap shoot - someone we'll hope becomes a Pro Bowler but may not pan out. Just look at the history of Bills 1st round draft picks. Sherman, on the other hand, is a proven commodity. He's already a Pro Bowler - at a position of need for us. My only concern is that Sherman is 29, he's not over-the-hill but not young either.

Yikes, Leroi, such negativity from you today. I think you can honor the past and still have a good future. In the army, when you get assigned to a new unit, part of the inprocessing typically involves reading the unit history and learning about its proud tradition. Similarly, lots of Ivy League kids read up on the proud history of their institutions. This in no way hinders them in building their own futures. Respecting tradition, in fact, can help build better futures. In this case, it's just dinner after all. It's not "dwelling." I don't think McD is watching old game tapes of the '66 AFL Championship game, wondering how we might have won that game. I'm sure his focus is entirely on making the Bills winners this year.

I remember when there were arguments about who was better: EJ or Geno. In the end, it didn't matter. Neither are in the top 32.

Wouldn't have been cool though if 61 of 61 players attended? Wouldn't have that been a strong statement of unity and commitment? I'm confident that when Shady does show up, he'll be in shape. I'm looking forward to another good year from Shady. I don't think his lack of attendance is the end of the world. I just think that the proper way to welcome a new coach is with participation and engagement. 60 players found ways to manage their personal commitments and still make it do Day One of voluntary workouts. It would have been nice if Shady figured it out too.

The difference is that Tunsil was exceptionally talented and most projected him to be a great pro despite his college idiocy. Chad's had injury problems, on-the-field problems, off-the-field problems. It's not a profile that says 'franchise QB.' I pretty much agree with this. We've already drafted a QB: Cardale. Let the new coaching staff get one year to work with him. Given that this is a QB-poor draft anyway, let's not draft a QB this year - or maybe only in the later rounds if a QB is BPA. If TT and Cardale both disappoint the coaches this year, let's make drafting a QB a high priority next year.

FC, how do you expect to persuade people by using wild speculation instead of logic & facts?

It happens so rarely, it's gratifying that someone noticed.

Robert Woods may have a higher ceiling than what we saw here in Buffalo with our anemic passing attack. But I don't think the 600 yards and 1 TD he got last year are irreplaceable. Similar thing with Gilmore. He didn't have a great year last year. While I don't think Seymour is nearly as good as Gilmore overall, I do think we can find someone to play the position as well as Gilmore did in 2016. Forget their best season, their potential, and forecasts for how well they'll perform on their next teams. Neither Woods or Gilmore were superstars last season. Their replacements don't need to be superstars to equal their contributions.

General George S. Patton once said something to the effect that 5% of the success of any plan depends on the plan itself. The other 95% is execution. Rex was supposed to be a good X and O coach. Yet our execution was poor so his supposed brilliance with schemes didn't amount to much.

It's more symbolic than practical. 60 of 61 players demonstrated they cared enough to be there. But there's a practical side too. We have a new coach. I'm sure he's carefully crafted his first words to the team in his effort to start laying the foundation of a new culture and new way of doing things. Shady missed that.

I want this to be true. There are some hits this is true. But as you say, show me the W's. Sometimes leaders and organizations superficially do all the right things but don't actually drive results. Hope that's not the case here.

I don't want him even as an UDFA. I don't want living legend, Jim Kelly, calling head coach, Sean McDermott, asking why his nephew isn't getting more reps in practice.

He's flawed on the field. Flawed off the field. He probably wouldn't make the team. And that could piss off his HOF uncle. The very small likelihood that something good would happen by drafting him is outweighed by the greater probability that something bad would happen. Given the long odds of him developing into a worthy starter, I just don't know why we'd bother.

Some of us are old-time, snakebitten Bills fans. Our optimism is of the cautious variety. McD seems to be saying and doing a lot of good things. But until we see wins getting posted faster than losses, we withhold our stamp of approval.

This sounds like a really good thing. But without knowing who's on it and how it works, who knows? And regards to Sammy... I can see how he plays and I know what he says to the media. That's it. I have no idea what kind of influence he has on the sidelines, on the practice field, in the weight room or locker room. So I have no idea if he should be on the Leadership Council.

Tactical questions matter. Zone or man? One or two gap? Where's the pressure coming from? Etc. But more important is execution. And I expect the players to execute McD's scheme better this year than Rex's scheme last year simply because I think McD will probably be a better, more thorough coach.

I guess we'll find out how smart McD is. No one has yet shown any consistency in outsmarting Belichick, Brady and the Pats. It'll be interesting to see what approach McD tries. Nervous? No. Healthy respect for the Pats? Yes.