hondo in seattle

Forget depth, I'm still worried about the starters. Henderson wasn't very good last year. Wood and Glenn both seemed to have off years. Richie didn't even play ball. Miller is a rookie. Yep, we have a new OL coach, new OC, etc. And certainly these 5 linemen seem to have potential. But I've been guilty of wishful thinking too often in my years of Bills fandom. Until these guys show it on the field, I'm worried.

The NFL is big tobacco? That's a stretch. Tobacco hid the dangers of their product for decades, bribed governments, and killed millions in the process. But CTEs are scary and I worry about the future of football.

Yet the net result is cheaters prosper. I don't hate Brady like many Bills fans do. I would have loved him in a Bills uni. But he willfully cheated and got away with it. It sends the wrong message to the rest of the league as well as to fans everywhere.

Curiously, Bills history has far more good RBs than QBs. My top 5: 1. OJ 2. Thurman 3. Freddy 4. Cookie 5 Cribbs I think Fred belongs on the stadium's Wall of Fame. In fact, I really think Freddy had a shot at being a HOFer if he had (1) played behind better lines, and (2) stayed healthy. If I'm not mistaken, Fred lead the league in yards after contact one year. I know he was among the leaders for a couple of years. No back in the NFL during Fred's prime did more-with-less the way Fred did. But he was more than just a good runner, he was a complete back - he could block, catch, and would inspire his teammates even when the Bills had no shot at the playoffs. Neither stats nor playoff accomplishments will back me up but I think if circumstances were different, we'd be arguing who's better Thurman or Freddy. A lot of talent and power accompanied Fred's big heart. He's a solid #3 for me and I'm tempted to call him 2b. I was at the Stick in 2004 when Shaud ran 17 times for 93 yards. The Bills won 41-7 and Williams looked great that day. 9er fans were asking me, "Who's that running back?" McGahee ran for 102 before leaving the game.

Larry Felser Tyler Dunne (auspicious beginning but no contacts at OBD yet) John Wawrow Chuck Pollock Tim Graham

The whole Fred thing, whatever the truth of the details, has dampened my enthusiasm for opening day. Until now, Whaley was my favorite GM since the SB years. Cutting Fred the way he did will be a permanent blight on his record.

I defended Whaley at first. But this - and Fred's comments about Doug being dishonest - are making me rethink my position.

I started worrying about Darby the day Leodis got hurt. We all realize Rex hung Darby out to dry in preseason and that Darby got a lot of valuable experience going up against NFL wideouts. This experience will help him during the regular season. Still, Darby clearly lacks some of the skills - and the consistency - you'd want from your starting CB. Not everyone is enamored with McKelvin but the secondary is significantly worse without him. Let's hope he recovers quickly.

Greetings neighbor! I've always been more of a Buffalo Bills fan than a NFL fan. I don't watch a lot of games that aren't Bills games. Just don't have the time. But my friends & coworkers have jokingly equipped me with a fair amount of Seahawk gear the past few years - shirts, hats, etc. - which has sit unused in drawers. Maybe I'll claim the Hawks as my #2 team now and wear some of this stuff. I'm tempted to go to a game in Seattle wearing my #22 Bills jersey.

Yep The Bills are a better team with both Freddy and MC on the squad. But penny-pinching is the name of the game if we're going to retain Marcel and others. With EJ and TT so uncertain, we had to get a reliable vet. But TT and EJ both surprised so the costly reliable vet is now an expense we don't need.

EJ is 2nd string. MC gets cut as Whaley does some penny-pinching to resign Dareus and others. We lost Freddy because we had other backs who were both younger and cheaper. Depth at QB - and any other position - is awesome. But we're in a situation now where we're going to have trouble resigning starters. Either MC or EJ is gone for cap reasons and my guess it's MC.

I've lived here for 6 years and have only watched 2 Seahawk games on TV (you can guess which two) and none in person. Fred coming to Seattle - if true - changes everything.

I've lived in Seattle for 6 years and have never become the slightest Seahawk fan despite the SB runs. But if Fred Jackson comes to Seattle, I'll start chanting "Go Hawks!" - at least when Freddy has the ball.

I'll cheer for TT all day long, every Sunday. And I'm cautiously optimistic about him. But if he plays poorly, I'll be wondering what the team would have been like with EJ under center.

I signed it. Fred is one of my favorite Bills ever. He was also one of the best. The stats might not say it as he dealt with injuries and shared carries with high draft picks. But in his prime, he was a beast.

I concur 100%.

I'll wear my Fred Jackson jersey during every game this year.

This is a reasonable guess. None of our local reporters have developed great sources inside OBD.

EJ and TT have both looked better than Cassell in preseason. Then again, they've done it against vanilla defenses and often against 2nd and 3rd stringers. Can EJ and TT perform well in the regular season where they have to quickly diagnose disguised defenses? I'm not sure... but I'd still choose either of them over Cassell who did little besides dink and dunk. I'm not sure what games the folks at GR have been watching.

It won't be Sully.

I've been impressed with both TT and EJ this preseason. I want EJ by a small margin. I think TT will win the coaches over - by a small margin - because he's a dual threat guy. MC has looked like MC has looked in the past. His dink-and-dunk approach won't stretch defenses and help open the run game. I think EJ's long ball will. Thanks for the research. I understand why some folks like TT to start. I don't get why they think TT was significantly, obviously better when EJ has produced much better passing stats.

During the offseason, I thought MC would most likely win the job. But Cassell has played like most of us expected while TT and EJ have played better than many expected. They both made some nice passes and put together some nice drives. Unless MC has shown something in practice that we haven't seen in the preseason games, I got to believe he's not in the running any more. A few of the media pundits have said it's a two man race. I agree. It's TT versus EJ. They've both looked good this preseason.

Only men with small egos need to be right. (That's my take on message board arguments).

This thread kind of depresses me because we're gong to lose a receiver or two that I would like to keep. Then again, I'm happy we actually have real NFL caliber competition at a position.

This is the best post yet!