hondo in seattle

I'll go with E.J. Nobody seems to be expecting much from him this year. The national media continually questions him. The pundits ranking the 2014 starting QBs always place him in the bottom half. But, mark my words, he's going to light it up this season and toss 30+ TDs. (Of course, this is all wishful thinking. But if it turns it he actually was the most underrated player going into 2014, it'll make for a great season).

This guy lives in a completely different world than you or I. He's talking to owners on a daily basis. He's getting input from the NFLPA and individual players. He's interacting with fans from around the country. He's got lawyers, advisory committees, and others bringing insights and intel to him. He's swimming in NFL information every day. I couldn't possibly guess what decisions I'd be making if I was as "read in" as he was and facing the same pressures from the various constituencies. I do know, however, that with Ralph's passing I'd rather have a reputed Bills fan and WNY native in that job right now than someone else.

Good points - especially the first one. But we still don't know what he have in EJ. As a fan, I'm hoping he does turn out to be one of the top 20 Bills this season.

My mom was French - born and raised in the suburbs of Paris. And she was the nicest, saintliest person I've ever known. Not sure what false assumptions you're writing under.

Great post CBF. I envy you. While I grew up in Cheektowaga, I live on the West Coast now and rarely have an opportunity to see a Bills game in person. While you live across the border, you're closer to the Bills - in more ways than one - than I am.

Man, you guys are hard on Jaws! I've got to stick up for the Lackawanna kid who once came to talk to my H.S. football team and who I'm guessing is still somewhat of a Bills fan. Jaws is great at breaking down film and telling us what happened. For whatever reason, he's horrible at prognosticating what will happen. Despite all his QB expertise, his predictions about the future performance of QBs are notoriously bad.

Seahawks also had four states.

They could rename the team, "The New York Bills of Buffalo" but I doubt if that would draw any new fans. New Yorkers will still root for the Giants or Jets. They could go whole hog and just rename the team, "The New York Bills" but I don't think even that name would attract a lot of fans outside of WNY - and would probably lose a few fans within the region. I really don't see a good way use naming options to attract fans from the other half of the state. Whether or not they play in Jersey, New Yorkers will remain loyal to the Giants and Jets. Regardless of the name, as long as the team plays in Buffalo, it will be viewed as Buffalo's team, not New York's. The best we can hope for, in terms of attracting fans, is more localized regionalization. But the "Niagara Frontier Bills" and other proposed name changes are rather inelegant.

1851 If this was better known, more would sign. Though it would still mean very little. Money and grand strategy count for more than signatures.

Preseason power rankings are pretty meaningless. Media guys often talk/write just for the sake of talking and writing. Because it sells and we fans like it when they say (stupid) stuff, even when we don't. Given that we have an unproven HC, unproven OC, unproven QB, a bunch of unproven WRs, a new DC implementing a new scheme, etc., it's not surprising we're ranked low. Where we see potential, the national media sees concerns & weaknesses.

Field participation precludes speed??? Goodwin ran a 4.27 40 at the combine - 6th fastest in combine history. He missed the record by .03. I'm not sure if this is "Olympic speed" but it's pretty darn fast!

Good find. Thanks. It will be interesting to see what he does this year.

It's all about EJ's development as a QB, Hackett's development as an OC, and Marrone's development as a HC. And then there's Danny Crossman. This team does have talent. But for the Bills to emerge as playoff contenders, several folks need to become better than they've been. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

That was unnecessarily unkind.

Roland Hooks. Coming after OJ and before Cribbs (and, at times, playing behind each of them) he tends to get forgotten. Hooks scored 4 TDs on his first four carries against the Bengals in 1979 including this amazing beauty: Then there was the 1980 game against the Pats with the Bills fighting for a playoff berth but losing to the Pats with 35 seconds left and no timeouts on their own 27. Hooks makes a phenomenal catch while getting nailed to gain 37 yards. The Bills run up to the line of scrimmage. Fergy snaps the ball before time expires and heaves the Hail Mary to the endzone. Hooks grabs the deflection to win the game. The Bills went on to make the playoffs with Cribbs injured and Hooks starting most of the rest of the season. http://www.nfl.com/videos/buffalo-bills/09000d5d8208e9c1/Hooks-Hail-Mary-catch He could have been a starter on some teams.

Years ago, most teams built their offenses around their workhorse RB. Now most teams build their offenses around their QB and run the ball by committee with RB specialists (a between-the-tackles back, an outside back, a short yardage back, a receiving back). In the 1950s, RBs won the Heisman 9 out of 10 years. But QBs have won the Heisman 13 of the past 14 years. While rushing attempts are not down tremendously in the past 15 years, they are down a lot if you look deeper into the past as the focal point of the offense has transitioned from RB to QB.

I was just involved in bidding on a company that was controlled by a trust. The process isn't as straightforward as some might think. At least, it wasn't in this case. Different bids were structured differently and so it was hard to truly compare apples to apples. Several bidders were eliminated early because doubts about them securing financing or the necessary approvals. Each of the bidders in the top 5 were told what the trust didn't like about their bid and we were allowed to restructure or increase our offers.

Let's see, we have an unproven head coach, an unproven OC, a new DC with a new scheme, a new LB coach, a new QB coach, a new Assistant OC, an unproven QB, maybe as many as 4 new OL making the squad, a bunch of young WRs, a few new starters on defense... Put that in the blender, hit the button, and what do you get? I have no idea. But under the circumstances, I can see why most in the national media are not predicting a winning season. Too many unknowns. And that's why I think this season will be especially fun to watch.

Whatever we think of Sammy's potential (or his value as a draft pick), it's interesting to see what Whaley is doing here. Last year he got himself a young, coachable QB with - hopefully - a high ceiling. We have a stable of good backs so the team doesn't need to depend entirely on the kid's arm. Whaley and Nix have collected a bunch of speedy, mostly tall, talented WRs who seem to have potential. And this year we drafted 3 OLs to protect the young QB. IF Whaley is right in his talent evaluations, this offense will be good for years to come as EJ develops chemistry with his young wideouts. There's not a ton of proven talent on this offense... but it oozes potential.

Great post.

$1.27B Pegula

I think Moulds, at his peak, was on of the best WRs the Bills have ever had. I think Sammy is more athletic than Moulds and I'd be thrilled if he could match Moulds' '98 season.

Here are two interesting sources... The National Congress of American Indians represents, I believe, about 3/4 of the Indian tribes in American and they are vociferous in their condemnation of the name. That suggests a "significant number" are offended by the name as I asserted earlier. And the Oneida Nation did a poll just released asking people in the Washington area if American Indians have a right to feel offended if called "redskin." 52% said yes. You're right, Dan Snyder and most white folks don't have a problem with the name. But even Miriam Webster dictionary says the usage of "redskin" is "usually offensive." The Cambridge online dictionary says it's "offensive." WordNet's online dictionary defines Redskin as an "offensive term for Native Americans (Synonyms: Injun, red man)." Dictionary.com says the term is "often disparaging and offensive." The MacMillan Dictionary says it's "offensive." Et cetera... "Redskin" - by definition - is offensive. Can you imagine if all NFL teams had names like this; Houston Spics Buffalo Honkies Detroit Darkies New York Kikes Etc. I get that "redskin" isn't offensive to every American or even every American Indian. But it clearly offends some and I don't think those offended are unreasonable. And I think the more we stay away from racial epithets, the better our society will become. It's simple. Names that promote unity and pride are good. Names that promote racial stereotyping and divisiveness are bad.

I don't see this as political correctness run amok. Names matter. Labels matter. My dad fought in WWII. His generation used words like "Kraut" and "Jap" to refer to their enemies. I fought in Desert Storm where many of our soldiers called our enemy, "rag-heads." It's easier to kill an enemy you have first demeaned. None of us wanted to kill "Mo" who had a wife and three children waiting for his return back in Baghdad, but we didn't mind killing rag-heads. It's not just political correctness to avoid using works like "Sp*c," "N*gger," K*ke," "Go*k," "Redskin" and so on. The more we use pejorative labels (and, yes, many find the "Redskin" name pejorative), the more likely we are to mistreat the group so labelled. Mexican farm workers used to be called, "migrant workers." Now the people in favor of deporting them label them, "illegal aliens." This is no accidental change of verbiage. It's hard to be in favor of deporting a family of migrant workers. It's much easier to get behind deporting illegal aliens. A significant number of Americans feel the word "Redskin" is demeaning and racist. As such it promotes certain negative behaviors and mindsets in certain people. America becomes a better place for everyone when the pejorative labeling stops. Change the name! Confucius observed: "A superior man, in regard to what he does not know, shows a cautious reserve. He knows if names be not correct, language is not in accordance with the truth of things. If language be not in accordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot be carried on to success... Therefore a superior man considers it necessary that the names he uses may be spoken appropriately."

Before seeing the choices I was ready to vote for Houston. But... Yikes!... there are a number of teams with unsettled - if not downright hopeless - QB situations!