hondo in seattle

WAY TOO EARLY to say anyone is beating out anyone.

I can't bet against you because (1) I love the optimism, and (2) I can't bet against my Bills. But with all the uncertainty at QB and OL, I wouldn't make a similar bet. To get to 11-5 or better, all the offensive linemen have to live up to our hopes and one of the QBs needs to step up and play better than he has before. It's possible. But probable? I don't know.

Yep, I get that point of view. But the rigors of an NFL season are hard on an old QB. I remember when George Blanda was too old to start at QB and backed up Lamonica in Oakland. Blanda played well in spot duty because his arm was fresh. Brady hasn't reached that time in his career where he is no longer a capable starter. But he has, I think, reached a point where a little rest could be a good thing for him.

Even though Brady's statistics were solid last year, there are signs he's getting old. He doesn't seem to throw deep balls with the same authority and precision as when he was younger. Last season the Pats started 2-2. This season, with Garoppolo under center, I can easily see them matching that. One of their games is against the Jags. With Belichick as coach, I'm guessing they'll find a way to pick up at least one other "W" during the Garofalo stretch. So Brady will get to rest his aging arm for four weeks and when he returns, the Pats won't be in a bad place. At Brady's age, that layoff has got to make a positive difference. I'm glad Brady was suspended because there needs to be consequences for cheating. I'm just not sure how much it will help us in the long run. (My apologies if this line of thinking has been offered elsewhere).

I doubt if Shady will become one of my favorite players. But he's not one of the NFL's bad boys either. I would prefer to like and respect the players I cheer on but I know young football players are never paragons of enlightened virtue. So I'll be screaming like crazy when Shady runs 40 yards past the Pats defenders into the endzone.

Roman is kind of a lose-lose. If he's great, we lose him. If he's bad, we keep him.

Biscuit, I don't mind the opinions. I, for one, like Peter King and he injects opinion into his pieces. Facts by themselves can be dull. Opinions add drama and context. The opinions can help transform the dry facts into a compelling story. Sully, though, goes too far, though, and seems to relish (1) being the contrarian, and (2) being negative. And while Peter King will give you new facts you didn't know, Jerry rarely provides new information. I rarely learn anything from Jerry and his whiny criticisms are just annoying. The BN should bring back Milt Northrop.

Yolo, I agree with you. The comment was both funny and true. Still if I'm MC, TT or EJ, my feelings were probably a little hurt and maybe - just maybe - it creates a little more self-doubt which isn't a good thing. If I'm Simms, however, I'm probably encouraged that the HC doesn't have a glowing opinion of the competition.

I hear the Pegulas are hanging four signs that say "Super Bowl Finalist" at our practice facility.

I won't wish misfortune on another human being but my first thought was about Sully, too. I hope TyDunne is cast from a different mold.

My first thoughts when we signed him: (1) camp arm (2) Rex likes the way he runs the scout team. Curious to hear Rex the other day saying we may have LeBrons other places but we don't have a LeBron at QB. It's always nice to have a coach who believes in you!

Forgetting the options, a "successful" season to me is simply making the playoffs, even if we lose in the first round. We really need to end the drought. And any team that makes the playoffs is relevant. I want the Bills to be relevant again.

Taking chances with personnel means signing guys and kicking the tires. I think the Bills have done that. "Taking chances" doesn't mean signing Brad Smith and letting him start just to take a chance. They evaluated him in practice and saw that he wasn't very good. So he didn't play except for WC. Coaches start their best 11 on offense and their best 11 on defense. When it's debatable if someone is one of the best or not, yep, he should be given a chance on the field. But Brad Smith was never in the running for a starting role. He made it plain on the practice field that he didn't deserve to be a starter. If some guy is too slow, weak or unskilled during practice, he's not suddenly gonna become a different guy on Sunday. We shouldn't insert the lame into the starting lineup just to take a chance and try something different.

I don't care how our triplets are ranked now. I care how they're ranked at the end of the season. We don't even know who are QB will be. Sammy is just a sophomore and will be playing with a new starting quarterback. Shady has never run in a Bills uniform before and Roman has never coordinated a Bills O before. It's all a bunch of questions.

From Syracuse Post Standard: Kouandjio has been taking reps with the first team at right tackle, and the coaching staff seems to like what they've seen. He's transformed his body since his rookie season and has cleaned up some of his technique. The 2014 second-round pick didn't play at all as a rookie, so if the new coaching staff can get something out of him, that will be a big win. Of course, Roman is hesitant to get too excited. "With him, putting the pads on and seeing how that projects, that's the final test," Roman said. "That's the final exam." http://www.syracuse.com/buffalo-bills/index.ssf/2015/06/7_takeaways_from_conversations_with_buffalo_bills_assistant_coaches.html

We really need at least one of last year's OL draft picks to become a good starter this year. Two of the three - Kujo, Richardson, Henderson - becoming good starters would be a coup.

I love Fred and hope he gets 100 carries and averages over 5 yards per rush. If Roman is truly a run-game guru and we can field a competent OL, I think this is possible. But Shady is wearing Buffalo blue these days so that makes me a fan of him, too. I hope he gets 250 carries and averages more than 5 ypc too. I want carries and yards for everyone.

In order, my worries are QB, OL, LB - with QB and OL being a virtual tie. I think our starting LBs are fine but injuries could hurt us. Then again, no team has depth everywhere. And as Hopeful points out, Rex is pretty creative and will field 11 good players one way or another. There's a lot of talent on the defensive side of the ball overall to play with.

While many of us may revile him, Pat fans are rallying behind him. I don't think its surprising.

The Bleacher Report has an article about the possibility of team's now carrying two-point specialists like Tim Tebow, for example. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2483081-should-nfl-teams-really-pursue-2-point-specialists While I do believe 2 point conversions will spike this year, I don't think teams will alter their rosters in any dramatic way. We already have 2 point specialists - they're called football players. And sometimes they're called short yardage specialists. Football teams face important short yardage situations all the time and they're already built to maximize success in those situations.

Lacina is probably a very good human being. But, as I recall, the guy had no agility.

So far cap considerations haven't been much of a problem for the Bills for years. So it's hard to get too concerned about them overspending for anyone. For the most part, I've wanted them to spend more. But I am starting to wonder about next year - and the years ahead - with no big name QB under contract and lots of cap space taken up by other positions.

Somebody says that Vic says the Bills like a couple of young lineman. And from that we get to Cordy will be demoted to 2nd string. Sounds like the telephone game.

All these guys have their blemishes and nothing would surprise me but I'm guessing (barring injury): 1. EJ 2. Cassel 3. TT I think Matt Simms gets cut. His resume isn't very strong and I know nothing about the guy that makes me think he'll beat out anybody. He was NY's last string QB and the Jets aren't exactly blessed at that position.

This probably isn't far off though I think Fred will have more time/carries than Boobie.