hondo in seattle

I think QB win-loss records are nearly meaningless (and, yeah, I know what happened to the Colts when Manning got hurt). Football teams have three units: Offense, Defense and Special Teams. The QB is one part - albeit the most important part - of one of the three units. A QB can be bad but still win because the Defense and Special Teams are doing their work. And that's why VY has a better win-loss record than Fitz.

Huh? Just because he played on some winning teams doesn't mean he was a born leader. Those teams won despite Young's lack of leadership ability - partly because of his athletic ability. Regards him being a cancer, I doubt it. The worst scenario is that Fitz plays bad, gets hurt, Young comes in and plays well and then Fitz become the starter again after recovering. That scenario could potentially lead to a divided locker room and fan base. But it's an unlikely series of events. I suspect VY will be a good team player and faithfully play the role that Chan gives him.

It's hard for us fans to know how much of San Diego's rise can be attributed to Buddy and how much to Butler, AJ, etc... But nice research. Reading this reinforces my optimism. I think the sun's finally coming out for Bills fans after a long winter.

It's been a great offseason for sure. But there are still a lot of question marks. Can Glenn be a good LT in the NFL? Will a WR step up and prove they deserve to be the starter opposite Stevie? How will our LBs fare in Wanny's 4-3? Do we have anyone that can shut down Gronk and Hernandez? Has VY matured enough to be a solid backup? Will our injured players be 100% on opening day? How good are our 2012 draft picks really?

I recognize that you prefaced your statement about VY starting with a big "IF" but I have to mention that VY was beat out by TE for the #2 spot in Philly. It's hard to imagine that VY has matured so much in one year that he's now ready to compete for a starting job. But, I guess, stranger things have happened.

I think when Nix said that Young was signed to compete for a backup position, he meant it. I don't think the Bills are looking at Young as a potential starter. Young is not nearly as smart as Fitz and therefore isn't likely to run the offense the way Chan wants. He's not as emotionally stable as Fitz. He doesn't have Fitz's leadership skills. I only see Young in a game if Fitz gets hurt. But if that did happen, it's possible that Young could play well and create a QB controversy - at least amongst the fans. Young does have the physical tools to play well when his head isn't up his butt. Despite his erratic background, I'm glad we brought him in.

Skip Bayless tweeted this: "Vince Young eventually will be the starting quarterback of the Buffalo Bills, who'll start causing problems in the AFC East." If memory serves me, Skip once similarly said that VY will beat out Vick for the starting job in Philly. What do you guys say? Will VY ever start ahead of a healthy Fitz? Personally, I don't think so. By the way, Bayless is not a guy who I think is very accurate or knowledgeable when he reports on the NFL. Nonetheless, I did like reading that the Bills will "start causing problems in the AFC East."

Vince's biggest problems have been mental rather than physical: poor leadership, inability to get along with some of his coaches, erratic behavior, etc. If he's finally grown up, he could be a nice addition. Obviously, Nix and Gailey saw some change in him; otherwise they wouldn't have offered him a contract.

+1

Yeah, I remember Nix or Gailey talking like this. I expect Glenn to start at LT.

We have 7 in the box and you're worried because our 1 MLB seems weak to you? How much faith do you have in the other 6 guys? How much faith do you have in Wanny? While our run D didn't look good last year, we have a new DC and a new defensive scheme, as well as some new players. And Shep was only a rookie last year. Rookie's don't often look good. As eball says, Wanny seems to have faith in Shep and, for now, that's good enough for me. I won't begin my worrying until the preseason.

cmjoyce, you seem knowledgeable on this issue. So what's the answer? Kurt Warner says he might not let his kids play football. In another thread, folks here on TBD are predicting that our grandkids won't play football because it's too dangerous. Is that really the road we're on? Or can we find ways to make the safety of football acceptable?

Didn't Wanny or someone actually say this? That they'd use Scott this year as a hybrid? Maybe in something like a 4-2-5 where he could either function as a DB or LB or something in-between?

For what it's worth, my high school team ran a 5-2-2-2 We had five down linemen, two LBs, two "inverts" and two DBs. Depending on the flow of the play, one invert moved up to play more-or-less like a LB. The other would drop back to play centerfield. We went 8-0 and I think only gave up 2 TDs all season long running this D my junior year. My senior year, though, we went 2-6.

This is an unrealistic proposal, unfortunately, but not a bad one. Lots of us have played football with and without pads and know that people hit differently - play differently - without pads. How was this helmet a good idea when Kelso played but not anymore? What's different now? (Btw, I'm wondering what number you wore?)

It's interesting we have so many players we can legitimately predict will have breakout seasons: A. Williams, Easley, Hairston, Spep, Wilson, Merriman, B. Smith, Batten, Searcey, Dareus...

Intriguing prospect. I like signing guys like this as long as we don't waste draft picks. Work-out warriors (Erik Flowers, anyone?) often disappoint in the pros. Even world class athletes like Renaldo Nehemiah don't necessarily make good football players. I wish this guy luck but would be surprised if he ever played much. Great athletes aren't always great football players and great football players aren't always great athletes. Btw, I kind of saw Graham as a workout warrior - picked primarily because of his 40 time but Nix and Gailey keep telling us he's a 'football player,' not a track runner. I guess we'll find out. In any case - like Nehehmiah - he'll be useful in stretching the field.

Seattle, WA from Cheektowaga, NY (JFK '77)

Coaches can be guilty of happy-speak sometimes but Wanny's endorsement did sound genuine. And that makes me feel a little better about MLB. Who cares if the quote was found on BR??? Shep might indeed be the break out player of the year. But I also might pick Aaron Williams. I'd be thrilled if it was Chris Hairston.

If I did the math right, the chances of winning (assuming each game is a 50-50 toss up) is about 1 in 65,536. Good Luck to all!

I disagree for a couple reasons. First, I want to see what Wanny can do with them. Second, I want to see if Merriman is FINALLY healthy.

Chan is using the passing game to open up the running game. The reason both our backs averaged over 5 yards a carry was not because of our dominating offensive line, but because (1) we do have talented backs and (2) Chan's play-calling. If Turk Schonert, for example, was still the Offensive Coordinator, FredEx and CJ wouldn't average over 5 yards a pop and people would wonder why we run so much when the run game is obviously not working.

Yep. As I remember it, Flutie's "magic" often happened in the 4th Quarter after he stunk up the first three quarters but thankfully our Defense kept us in the game. The Defense won games back then, not Flutie nor Johnson.

There is an intruder - male, Caucasian, possibly armed, certainly weird - in my kitchen... M-my-my-my name is Bueller...

A thought about "context" - it's true that the Bills pass rush didn't do our corners any favors last year. But this is equally true for all the DB's, not just Florence. Yet Florence is the only Bills DB to show up on any of PFF's lists for the poorest performing cornerbacks. http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/01/12/cornerbacks-a-glance-at-the-2011-numbers/