hondo in seattle

S.A.S. has a habit of saying dumb things. But I wonder if his statements now cause Eagle players to wonder. Will the allegations of racism lead to ongoing dissension and morale issues in the Eagles locker room? If I was an Eagle fan right now, I'd be worried about this.

Exactly!

Signing - or not signing - the petition isn't going to change the decisions made at OBD. But signing does tell Freddy and the other players that we love the Bills and are loyal to those who are loyal to us. That's a good message. I signed.

From what I saw of Freddy and the other backs last year, he's the 2nd best RB on the team when on the field. And then there's what he contributes off the field. I'm glad he's staying. I do wonder, though, what Pegula's role was. GMs are happiest and most productive when owners don't meddle. Btw, I remember when we signed LB Phil Villipiano in 1980 when many said he was over the hill - but we signed him more for what he'd contribute in the locker room than what he'd contribute on the field. And Phil did indeed help the Bills get better. I think Freddy has an important role to play on this team. Freddy motivates his fellow players to commit themselves a little more. And that, friends, adds to more wins.

Especially given we don't have a franchise QB and we're going to be a running team, why would Watkins/Woods/Hogan be considered by anyone an inadequate WR corps?

Getting a guy fired from his job is pretty harsh. Personally, when I see an article was penned by Rodak, I now usually skip it. He's normally just rehashing info that has already been published elsewhere and, as mentioned, often with a negative slant. He adds nothing to my Bills I.Q.

Does Whaley cut anyone to free up some shopping money?

Sorry Cletus. No offense meant. It would certainly be exciting if the fake twitter account was actually accurate.

I buy this.

One of the worst threads ever. Hope the OP isn't the one who started the fake twitter account. Cletus, you wouldn't do that, would you???

I think the CBS take is sober: "But we've seen him [Cassell] succeed in a similar situation and given the incredibly weak options out there, this was the best possible realistic move the Bills could make to set themselves up to win now without compromising the future."

For those who say Shady's in decline, here's SI's take on his reduced production: In 2013 he led the NFL in carries (314) and rushing yards (1,607), following that up with a 312-carry, 1,319-yard season in 2014 despite a series of injuries that left Philadelphia's offensive line in shambles. http://www.si.com/nfl/2015/03/03/eagles-trade-lesean-mccoy-bills-kiko-alonso-chip-kelly-rex-ryan Also, Philly had QB issues which allowed defenses to focus more on McCoy in 2014.

Where's the MAYBE button??? It will be interesting to see what EJ has learned this past season. I heard he worked a lot on his timing. He also studied Orton's preparation and leadership. And this year he'll have the opportunity to work with David Lee who has a talent with young QBs. And Rex Roman who transformed Alex Smith into a viable NFL starter. A better running game will help too. Maybe this is the year EJ emerges as a franchise QB.

Yeah, I agree. I like CJ and was hoping to see what he could do with a run game guru for an OC. But given his production, 4.5 mil seems like a strong offer. CJ and his agent overplayed their hand. It makes me feel better to know we offered him a fair contract and only pursued Shady when we were spurned. I'm no expert in NFL finance but I don't think CJ will get much more than 4.5 on the open market. There are too many backs in free agency, too many good ones in the draft, and too many people like Chip Kelly who think 'backs are a dime a dozen' in this pass-happy league.

You made some valid points but to call DW idiotic is hubris, brother. DW is far, far smarter about football than you or I will ever be. Every GM makes both good and bad moves - the good ones makes somewhat fewer bad calls. It seems to me that Whaley - with some of the ground work being laid by Buddy Nix - has built this team into a playoff contender. We'll see. I'll eat my words if we finish 6-10. But I think 10-6 is far more likely. With EJ or Cassel under center, we're not going to field a dynamic passing attack. So DW is doing everything he can to guarantee a good running attack. Dealing a player where we have depth for an elite RB makes loads of sense. Bryce Brown is not LeSean McCoy.

With the signing of Cassel, we're losing cap space quickly. Then again, other than Revis (an expensive and exciting luxury but not a necessity) and maybe Iupati, what other FAs do we want?

From NFL.com... Clinton Portis thinks there's one absolute winner in this blockbuster running back for defensive player trade. "I don't see Kiko Alonso turning out to be a J.J. Watt or a Ray Lewis, just dominating this conference," Portis said Wednesday on NFL AM. "Maybe he does, but I don't see it. It'll be hard to do. The Billsreally won in this trade and I know for LeSean McCoy, there's some aggravation in being traded, you feel like you've done so much for a city, but you have an opportunity to go to a team that wants you, play for Rex Ryan, a guy you know will run the ball." He added: "This is a trade I really don't understand. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000476309/article/clinton-portis-the-bills-really-won-this-trade "

So Cassel throwing the ball and Shady running the ball behind an improved line in a Rex Roman offense? Combined with a Top Ten ST unit and a Top Five defensive unit. Life could be worse. I'd still like to see us acquire another offensive lineman or two, and a TE. Btw, Cassel's career QB rating is about the same as Orton's and higher than Sanchez's.

Well we needed a veteran QB on the roster though I can't say I'm excited. Surprised to see he has a lifetime 80.1 QB rating. It's not Tom Brady but it's higher than I thought it would have been. I hope EJ learned a lot last year and he'll be good enough to beat out Cassel. In other words, my big hope is that EJ is actually good in 2015 and we won't need to start Cassel.

I feel bad for CJ, too. He's been a team player and class act since we drafted him. Spiller has a unique set of strengths and weaknesses. Gailey knew how to make maximal use of those strengths. Marrone used Spiller mostly as if he were just another back. Roman is smart with the run game. I was hoping for another 1,000 yard season from Spiller with a 6.0 ypc average. But I'm sure Whaley vetted this trade with the coaches and they decided they could do more and better things in Roman's scheme with Shady. If the Jests weren't in the AFCE, I would hope Spiller would reunite with Gailey. I'd like to see CJ be successful again somewhere - as long as it doesn't hurt the Bills.

Shady is a PA kid and has lived in Pennsylvania his entire life. His friends and family are all there. And I'm sure the trade came as a shock. I don't blame him for being unhappy. I'm sure he'll adjust to a new reality. Being the workhorse in a Rex/Roman ground-and-pound offense can't sound like a bad thing once he does a little research. Roman has a reputation for drawing up plays that give backs holes to run through. And Rex's former players almost universally like/love him. Personally, I'd be happy to move back to Buffalo (or move to any NFL city), if someone was going to pay me millions per year. Shady will be fine with the trade eventually.

I think Whaley sees us on the cusp of playoff contention. Our 9-7 record last year bears that out. So he feels a sense of urgency. He's hungry to make the playoffs this season so he'll work overtime and make bold deals to get us there. I think he's happy with the defensive roster overall. And we did well on special teams last season (I'm guessing DW will resign Easley). But DW knows Rex and Roman need more offensive weapons. Since no franchise QBs are available, DW went out and got us a franchise RB. He knows we're going to need a great running attack to balance what might be a weak passing attack. Toward this end, DW signed Incognito, traded for a RB, and I'm guessing he's going to get another FA OL. I was not a fan of trading up for Sammy but mostly I like what Whaley is doing. (Humbly noting that neither I nor most anyone else here know 1/100th about NFL personnel that DW knows. But as a fan, it's more fun to have an opinion anyway).

Although I like this trade, it is odd that we traded for a RB when this draft is supposed to be deep in RBs. Then again, Shady is elite. When you don't have an elite QB, you need an elite RB. That's an interesting thought. If I'm a FA QB, I'm probably noticing a few things... * The Bills have a couple good, young wideouts. * The Bills have a great D. I won't have to win games single-handedly. * I'll have an elite RB lining up behind me - opposing defenses will have to respect the run. * Rex Ryan and Greg Roman have good reputations. * The Bills were 9-7 last year. They should be contending for the playoffs this season. The problem, of course, is that there aren't any good FA QBs.

This is spot on. We can't count on EJ suddenly demonstrating he's a franchise QB. There's certainly no QB available in the draft or in free agency who we would want to build a passing attack around. So there's a huge sense of urgency at OBD to build up our run game. They hired Incognito despite the baggage. And they just traded away an up-and-coming LB to acquire an elite RB. It's imperative Whaley do these things. We have a playoff caliber defense. Now we have to find ways to manufacture some offense which, given the QB situation, means we must make bold moves to create an effective run game.

I love the "Legend of Kiko." But Kiko was great the first half of his rookie season and then sat out his sophomore year with an injury. He's hoping to develop into a Pro Bowler some day. Shady is already a Pro Bowler - three times over. Who knows what the future holds but their resumes aren't even close. I voted McCoy.