hondo in seattle

If I was McCown: * I'd want to start * I'd want to win * I'd want to get paid. In Cleveland, he's pretty much guaranteed the first point and the Browns probably beat us on the last point.

True. But he's probably finding this a lot more fun.

I agree. Leroi knows he's earned some cred. Now he's playing with it.

Signing Bradford wouldn't excite me for these reasons (and the fact he's injury prone) but I do hope we bring in some competition. And Bradford's about as good as anyone else 'available' - though I'd hate to cough up a high draft pick for him. If we did sign Bradford, we'd have to begin the season with 4 QBs.

Whatever his flaws, Tim was ten times better than Sully. Larry Felser, though, was the best.

I agree with John wholeheartedly on this. Marcel is a proven Pro Bowler. Players like that are hard to find. Bradford is a proven hospital patient. Why significantly weaken our defense on the long shot that we might, maybe, possibly be upgrading our offense?

I'm assuming the Bills would renegotiate his fat contract. I'm not sure Bradford can throw better than EJ, or stay healthier. But we certainly need to enter preseason with some combo better than EJ & Tuel

I'd rather spend this money on a QB. But what QB options do we have? The truth is that you just can't build a team that's strong everywhere. There's not enough money, not enough quality FAs, and not enough draft picks. So you build pockets of excellence where you can. Right now we have the opportunity to resign Hughes which will give us possibly the best defensive front 7 in the NFL in 2015. My fingers are crossed this works out.

Let's hope EJ figures it out. You are of course correct in saying the Bills need to bring in viable competition. But looking at the FA QBs available, and college kids in the draft this year, it seems the most likely scenario is that we enter the 2015 season with EJ under center. So here's my list of wishful thinking: * Greg Roman will do for EJ what he did for Alex Smith * Richie Incognito and a better OL overall will make EJ's job easier. * A capable running game (Roman's running games are almost always in the top 10) will take some pressure off EJ * EJ had contradictory guidance and different 'voices in his head' in 2014. A unified coaching staff will help the young QB develop. * David Lee has an excellent reputation working with young QBs and he'll do a nice job mentoring EJ * EJ learned a lot when he sat on the bench last season. * The defense will be so good under Rex that the offense won't have to score a lot.

I'm afraid the Bills will make the classic Prom Night Mistake. The girl you have a crush on already has a boyfriend. She's not going with you. The other girls who are available just don't excite you the same way, so you procrastinate asking anyone to the prom. By the time you decide to take action, all the cute and average girls already have dates. You're left with the girl no one else wanted.

I'm thinking like this... Rex, especially with Kiko coming back, will make the D a little better. Danny Crossman will keep the ST in the Top Five. Greg Roman, especially with some new starters on the OL, will establish a capable running attack. With all that, we can Trent Dilfer our way into the playoffs.

What PFF does is interesting and somewhat useful. But you're right - it's very hard to do statistical breakdowns of individual NFL players, especially when you don't know the call/assignment.

I only watched Carr play once or twice and wasn't convinced he was going to be a franchise QB one day. I agree with the OP - he doesn't look any more star ready to me than EJ. We all know the Kaep and Russell Wilson stories but I still remember Jim Plunkett finally emerging as a star QB when he was something like 30 years old. Nobody expected that. QBs develop at different rates and I'm not convinced at all that EJ won't be able to overcome the flaws in his game. Then again, I wouldn't count on EJ developing into a franchise QB either. I'd be hot to find an alternative if I were Doug Whaley.

There is a reason that McCown has played in the NFL as long as he has - he's better than most QBs trying to make an NFL roster. I don't necessarily want him as our starter. But I'd rather have him on the roster than Tuel. And if McCown played for us like he did for the Bears in 2013, we'd go to the playoffs. I don't think signing McCown precludes signing another guard. The cap money is available. I know there's no love for McCown but realistically what are our options? None of the FA QBs are great. And any QB we could draft in the 2nd or later rounds is a project. I'd love if Jim Kelly discovered the Fountain of Youth. But given the choice of starting the season with EJ and Tuel or EJ and McCown, I'd personally prefer the latter. Tuel looked awful in his 2 regular season games - far worse than McCown.

I get what you are saying but... I seriously doubt that Tuel will ever have a season as good as McCown's 2013 showing. I don't think the odds are even 1 in 100 that Tuel will be a solid starter. I think McCown's odds of being productive are far better than Tuel's. I also think McCown will be a better mentor to EJ than Tuel - which will be important if EJ is the starter this year. I wouldn't use Ditka as a personnel expert to bolster your POV. Ditka had 7 winning seasons in 14 years as a head coach, and those were primarily achieved by a defense he didn't run. And when Ditka was in charge of personnel decisions in NO, he didn't achieve even one winning season. In fact, he went 15-33 when personnel decisions were governed by his philosophy.

I'm not sure what all the consternation is about. McCown is't good. He's not the franchise QB we're all looking for. Everyone understands that. But if he's better than Jeff Tuel, then he upgrades our weak QB roster. If he can be had reasonably cheap, why is that a bad thing? No one says we can't cut him later if we locate better options.

Would we rather have EJ and Tuel, or EJ and McCown?

Matt Moore Though I don't like any of the FAs.

It does seem a little that the Pegulas like to find the good in people. Naive? Maybe. Or maybe just an approach to life that they like. Hopefully when it backfires on them, which is bound to happen from time to time, they acknowledge the mistake quickly.

We finished the season tied for the 14th best W-L record, but we're 24th in roster talent? Rotoworld is effectively saying that Marrone coached us up 10 spots higher than we deserved based on talent. Clearly this is insane.

I really don't care about the Martin incident anymore. Besides, Richie's past misbehavior includes far more than bullying Martin. Reading his rap sheet, so to speak, makes me regret that I celebrated RI's signing. But the other side is that Richie convinced the Pegulas that he's a changed man and maybe he is. Being so desperate for a talented guard (and PFF had him ranked #9 in the NFL after 8 games in 2013), we all want to believe that Richie has turned a corner in his life. Clearly, he's been an a**hole in the past. I'm ready to call that water under the bridge. I'm hoping as a Bill he's going to be a bully on the field and a model citizen off it. If he's not, I hope Rex, Whaley, or the Pegulas quickly make the right decision.

I was with my (ex) wife and baby daughter in Northern California. Around halftime, my ex was trying to convince me to take her shopping. I remember her asking me, "Has any team ever come back from this far down before?" "No," I grudgingly conceded. But then added something corny like, "But a fan never gives up hope." The truth was that I thought there was maybe 1 chance in 100,000 of the Bills coming back. Thurman was out. Kelly was out. And, if I recall correctly, Houston had beaten us in the last game of the regular season. They clearly had our number. I remember hanging out at Otto's in the early 80s with my impoverished, degenerate friends for 10-cent wings. We'd order buckets of 'em.

Idzik was bad but worst of all time? Not even close. Matt Millen wins that title easily.

I think the plan for next year is obvious.... Rex Ryan will elevate an already good defense. Danny Crossman will keep the STs playing at a high level. Greg Roman will do what he does best and establish a capable running attack. (I expect us to sign/draft at least one more guard). We'll do the best we can passing the ball with the best QB we can find (maybe EJ). That's probably not enough to get us to the SB but it could be enough to get us into the playoffs.

How do you know Lynch is a punk? Do you hang out with him much? People who actually know the guy (Fred Jackson, for instance) have a higher opinion of him than you do. I don't know Lynch personally and won't judge a man I don't know. Incognito, btw, isn't the penalty machine anymore that you make him out to be. During the 8 games he played in 2013, he received two flags. Just two. At that pace, he would have finished with 4 penalties for the season. In comparison, Cordy Glen had 6 penalties that year and Eric Woods had 10.