hondo in seattle

I apologize if someone already mentioned this but I didn't read all 16 pages of this thread. Both Woods and Watkins are saying publicly that they're getting open but not getting the ball. While fans and the media have often raved about the performance of TT, there seems to be some discontent among the wideouts. Maybe because TT isn't very tall and has difficulty seeing over the linemen... or maybe because he just doesn't have a lot of experience yet... or maybe because protection is breaking down quickly... whatever the reason, he's not finding his WRs.

Dead on. Agree. I think some of the ideas circulated by the local press (i.e. Bucky and Sully) are ludicrous. The notion that Whaley went rogue and traded MC with Rex's knowledge or input, for example. I can't imagine that scenario. And then the idea that Rex is going to play TT even though he's seriously injured because he has so little faith in EJ. That's just dumb. We can argue all day if EJ will ever be a good starter in the NFL but - based on his regular season record and demonstrated improvement this preseason - he's a legit backup. If TT cannot safely play, EJ will start. And it's not a big deal - just another backup coming in for an injured starter. Happens all the time. But Bucky and Sully want to turn this into a drama-fest with DW cast as the villain.

Nate Silver's Elo has been the most accurate model so far and it's saying the Bills have a 47% chance of beating Cincy. A coin flip, more or less. Elo also says the Bills have a 45% chance of making the playoffs. Another coin flip. http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2015-nfl-predictions/ Nate Silver, if you remember, is the probability/statistics guy who correctly predicted the outcome in 49 of 50 states in the 2008 presidential election and 50 of 50 in the 2012 election. But he first gained fame doing baseball stats.

Polian is a smart guy but - Yikes! - we're only 5 games into the season. Some teams have had soft schedules. Some have had tough schedules. Some have new HCs, OCs and DCs and are still working on things. Some team have had injuries. Some are going to suffer important injuries. And some no-name players are going to step up before the season's over. No stat, or group of stats, are going to accurately predict the postseason at this point. That's part of the fun of being an NFL fan. There are always surprises.

I don't pretend to know how good EJ may have become. But it will be fun to root for him Sunday and find out. I'm a fan of anyone who wears Red, White and Navy Blue.

While Marrone was not a good coach, there's got to be more to the story.

I know Tyrod was running with the ones for awhile today but Sammy seems to think EJ will start and do well: "I'm pretty sure he's been watching Tyrod every play and what he's been doing well and not doing well and learn from it. I think this game he's going to come in and light it up because he had that time to sit and watch Tyrod make plays. Now, he can say 'Tyrod can make plays, I can make the same.' I think he's going to have a monster game. He's going to go out there and throw a lot of passes, make the right corrections at the line. He's going to do well." http://bills.buffalonews.com/2015/10/14/watkins-sees-ej-manuel-having-a-monster-game-vs-bengals/

If Bucky doesn't like the GM in question, then emphatically YES. It does mean they're all idiots.

I agree Fred should have been resigned. But Whaley saw how good KW was playing and, with Shady getting the bulk of the carries and Boobie the short yardage guy, DW didn't see a role for Freddy. Besides, KW and Boobie were both cheap and young and DW was doing all the penny-pinching he could to resign Marcel as well as save money for next year's resignings. Even if he took a paycut, Freddy would still have been older and more expensive than the other two backups. I'm just saying that you can either see that DW is a smart personnel guy with a reasonable rationale for what he does (whether you agree not). Or you can suggest - like Bucky - that he's an arrogant man-child petulantly and ineptly playing at GM. It seems to me that the first explanation is more consistent with the truth. The Pegulas - and Ralph and Brandon before them - would have to be absolute idiots to retain the services of the latter version of DW and I don't think they're idiots. And while DW's made mistakes along the way, it's hard to argue that this Bills squad isn't more talented than the one we had a few years ago. Again, my complaint about Bucky is the unsubstantiated ad hominen attacks that DW is arrogant and/or insecure. If you want to cast unkind hand grenades, at least support them with something more than speculation and innuendo. My only take-away from Bucky's article is that Bucky doesn't like Whaley. I didn't find his piece insightful in any other way.

I agree with you 100%. After 15 years out of the playoffs, I think the NFL should grant the Bills an exemption that allows us an unlimited number of players with an unlimited salary cap. Seriously, though, it just seems that Bucky set out to write a 'DW Sucks' article. I still disagree with the cutting of Freddy but it's not hard to see Whaley's logic even when you disagree with it. And trading away MC? It seemed like a reasonable business decision at the time. Yet according to Bucky, DW was not being a reasonable GM. Instead he was acting out of insecurity and/or arrogance. Bucky makes DW sound like an egotistical, petulant child who has no business running a franchise when DW seems like a pretty smart personnel guy if you ask me. The ad hominen tone of the article was unnecessary and very much off point.

As has been pointed out by others in a different thread: maybe/maybe not. Cassel - as a vet with lots of game day experience - could probably run an offense no-notice better than EJ if TT got hurt in the course of a game. That doesn't necessarily mean Cassel could run the offense better with a week of preparation under his belt. In any case, watching the two in preseason, it would be hard to understand how any coach would have rated MC much higher than EJ. EJ played well in preseason. Cassel being listed as #2 might have been little more than a coin flip. I haven't heard anything from the coaching staff that indicates who might have been adamant about keeping or starting MC. Interestingly, both MC and EJ will have a chance to start this weekend. It will be on very different offenses of course but will still be fun to see who does better.

My dad fought in WWII and - as a product of his era - occasionally called Japanese "Japs" and Germans "Krauts." I love my dad. I respect his service. But I still told him it was wrong to use that terminology and haven't heard it from his lips in many years. He grew. He evolved. Parcells grew up in an era when blacks were thought to be good at other positions in football but not at QB. I hope he still doesn't hold onto some of those old stereotypes.

When Bucky writes sentences that forces the reader to choose if DW is insecure or arrogant, I get the impression that Bucky just doesn't like Whaley. I wonder if something happened between them.

This is a good point. And from my vantage point (watching games on TV in Seattle), EJ looked better than MC in preseason. So - unless EJ and TT are hurt at the same time - trading away MC was no big deal.

Woods says: “A lot of guys are open. We’re just trying to be an open target for Tyrod – there’s a lot going on in the pocket. Defenses are throwing a lot of stuff at him. But just trying to be open. When the ball’s in the air, we’re trying to get it. But other than that, we’re just trying to be an open target for him.” Woods is pretty clearly saying that Tyrod doesn't always find the open guy. I know EJ was not a master at finding the open receiver in previous years but seemed pretty adept at it this preseason. Could EJ possibly be an upgrade in this regard??? http://bills.buffalonews.com/2015/10/13/receiver-woods-more-than-happy-to-throw-a-block-when-necessary/

I haven't paid a lot of attention to Mulligan when he's in but when I have this is what I see.

Who would have predicted that Matt Cassel and EJ Manuel would both be starting QBs in Week 6?

Maybe I'm old school, but I think gloves should be banned. As an ex-receiver, I hate seeing WRs grab balls with gloves that some of them couldn't grab with bare naked hands. Rain? Snow? The elements are part of the game in open air stadiums. It requires skill and training to adapt. No gloves would also make jersey-pulling tackles less frequent.

After reading the article, I thought it was a stretch to suggest that Parcells is a racist. Yes, the white QBs were positively mentioned while the black ones were used as negative examples. But he only mentions a few QBs by name. It could easily all be a coincidence. And I get filthymcnasty08's point. Parcells seemed to hold some of his black players in very high regard when he was coaching. But... Including EJ as one of the spoiled prima donnas is just wrong. When someone distorts the truth to make a point, you wonder what their real objective is. Then there's Jimmy's video. Embarrassing stuff.

Very few. But right now I'm wondering if we should have been one of them. But I can't blame DW for trading MC under the circumstances that existed at the time. And to QTR83's question... If EJ does well in the Cincy game and leads the Bills to victory, is there a QB controversy? I don't think Rex and his staff would see it that way. I think they made their choice and have confidence in TT, and one good game by EJ wouldn't change their minds. But what if TT is hurt for a while and EJ keeps winning? It would be a good problem to have.

I'm not sure how much a gamble that was. While Cassel was chosen to be the primary backup, EJ looked just as good or better than MC in preseason. I guess the gamble is this: what happens if EJ gets hurt while TT is hurt? There's no one else to turn to - no legit options anyway.

Scary stuff. Careers are ended and lives ruined by concussions. Wishing him well.

I think about it a little differently. Our OL is playing about as well as I expected. I don't think it's going to get much better until we get better players, especially at RT. Hopefully, Kromer's return proves me wrong but I think there's only so much you can do with this personnel group. I worry more about the DL. No matter how Rex spins it, they're playing below their potential and that's a bigger issue. You can't worry when you squeeze lemons and get lemonade. But when you squeeze oranges and aren't getting orange juice, there's a problem that need to be fixed.

Is it possible that as your football I.Q. goes up, your tolerance of misinformation and mediocrity go down? Maybe the TV crews aren't getting worse. Maybe you're just becoming more of a critical connoisseur.

These are good points. We faced 3 teams with defensive masterminds who were given extra preparation time. But it's the luck of the draw. Good teams overcome bad luck. Let's see how the next few games work out.