#34fan

Maybe. -But Certainly not in an early round (1-4) To me, TE is a very utilitarian position. A guy who plays it has be able to do whatever it takes to move the chains. Finding an excellent blocking, receiving, and open-field running TE is a rare and wonderful thing. IMO, we already have those talents in Scott Chandler. Plus, we still have Chris Gragg, and Lee Smith. I see no need to over-draft a high-profile TE prospect when this team has other glaring needs... I think If were were talking later rounds (5th, 6th) I'd be much less aprehensive about it. Btw, I've got my eye on a TE prospect named Alex Bayer out of Bowling Green State University. Not sure where he'll be in the later rounds, but he's my very EARLY bargain-basement find of the '14 draft. -6'4", a burly 260lbs, catches very well on the run, and has instincts for getting open.

I'm ok with the blue tights. However, I truly despise the white helmet. -Funny because I sure didn't mind it way back when.... Red Helmets next year, please. Also, can we have just ONE GAME with the 90's royal blue throwback jerseys. JUST ONE!!!!!

Devastating. -Sincere condolences to Stevie & Family.

Yes, Please! Hilliard's receiver corp was a total disappointment this season. If we can find a better replacement, Ike should definitely take a hike.

I guess we can all choose our favorites. My point is that all four didn't need to go. Rogers was a tough kid who needed a bit more mentoring... Dickerson was a great seam weapon. Provo wasn't blazingly fast, or the greatest blocker, but his hands definitely helped Ryan Nassib be in the NFL conversation. I saw Provo as a smart, high-character kid who deserved a closer look. Hopefully Marackett can see their way to letting Kaufmann play in an actual game.

Our FO's fundamental understanding of talent, specifically offensive talent is flawed. -They just don't get it. Historically they have struggled mightily with the acquisition, management, and development of offensive players. Here are some basic realities about playing in the NFL that OBD continues to IGNORE. 1. YOU NEED SIZE AT WR. 6' 2" or better. Not only does it make life easier for your QB, It keeps defenses off balance by giving them a problem they NEED to commit resources to. resources they may need elsewhere. Now, of course there's room in the league for smaller, talented receivers. They can be your bread and butter in the flat, seam, and slot... In the red zone, however, you need to TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS. Bring in the dump truck, and leave the Toyota Tacoma at home. It's a great car, but it's not useful in every situation. 2. YOU HAVE TO CATCH THE BALL BEFORE YOU RUN WITH IT. Speed isn't everything. And while there are few big receivers I can think of that have struggled with drops. By and large they hang onto what they put their hands on. Even the occasional drop is no cause to abandon them since they will always have a vertical advantage over typically smaller defenders. (See Demariyus and Julius Thomas) Size, and Good hands count more than speed in my book. 3. SUCCESSFUL QB'S NEED TO THROW WITHOUT FEAR. There's a tremendous comfort factor in having a strong, physical, presence at the WR position. Once the ball is airborne, it's anybody's. A receiver who will fight to reel in balls that are off by a few degrees, will quickly gain the trust of a passer. I watched a kid from (FCS Big Sky) Eastern Washington University named Brandon Kaufmann (6'5",217lbs )play the University of Washington (BCS Pac-12) in a game a couple years back. The kid caught almost everything thrown his way. -Leaping... Falling down.... Even with multiple defenders draped on him, he absolutely killed U-dub's secondary. EWU would eventually lose. However, Steve Sarkisian would later admit to the damage done by Kaufmann. We HAD this kid in TC... From what I saw, and from all reports, he performed admirably. Yet hey cut him to hang onto Chris Hogan and TJ Graham, who at 5'11, 188, doesn't even make a good paperweight. EJ's trepidation at throwing to TJ was palpable, and when he did, he was mostly rewarded with incompletions. As horrifying as this season's suckitude was, It was forseeable, after the cuts of Rogers, Dickerson, Provo, and Kaufmann. Whoever made those personnel calls got it terribly wrong. EJ NEEDS bigger, more reliable targets, as well as the guidance of legitimate NFL coaches going forward. So far Marrackett has offered him neither. Time's up. OBD needs to nip this regime in the bud.

From the beginning, I thought the TC WR cuts were too deep. I gave Marrone the benefit of the doubt on Da'Rick despite knowing the value of a a big, strong, target not afraid to go up and grab balls, and fight off defenders. Rogers was a character risk. I believe he still may be. However Marrone didn't even TRY to adjust the kid's attitude! Doug also quit on high-character, solid work-ethic kids like Nick Provo, and Brandon Kaufmann! Why wouldn't you want your rookie QB, to have reliable (Albeit slower) targets to build confidence with? At the time, cutting Rogers, Dickerson, Kaufmann, and Provo seemed really short-sighted. Now I know it was just plain dumb to cut all those guys for TJ Graham, and Chris Hogan. I like Doug Marrone. However, him and Hackett CLEARLY failed the talent asessment portion of this exam.

Day-um! Right on the money (except for the chandler part. ) In the context of this conversation, I must insist that maturity is probably more of a subjective opinion than anything else. If we were speaking about sexual maturity in a certain species, we'd have a short, factual, conversation. However, because we're speaking about human behavior, in circumstances un-related to propagation of the species, conclusions can be more subjective. In this this case, we look to behaviour that typically produces favorable results as mature, and view behavior with detrimental outcomes as immature. We hold individuals up to the light, compare habits to outcomes, then make assessments. -If spinning footballs got you to the playoffs, Stevie would get us there for sure. If first-down celebrations were worth six points, Stevie would be among the top scorers in the NFL. However, these things don't help us win... In fact, they can result in costly penalities that hurt our bottom line. So, for the purposes of winning football games, Steve Johnson's behavior is largely useless. Whether you consider him mature, or not, the outcome is the same. Why watch football at all if you live in world of essential mathematical truths? Why not Just survive, reproduce, then keel-over when it's done?

EJ's confidence should have been built over time with an assortment of sure-handed, reliable targets, short yardage plays, and end-zone efficiency. Instead, he was thrown out there with a bunch of track stars, and expected to throw 50yard touchdowns. Completions build confidence in young QB's. Crawl first... Then walk... THEN run. We should start this process over before this young QB is ruined. -Just my opinion.

Having vices does not make one immature by default. I think Irvin knew that he had to produce on the field... He knew his job was to win, and made no bones about it. Stevie, by contrast, seems to think he's there to spin footballs, and do dumb end-zone celebrations... There's no quality control, no discipline, no professionalism, and very little focus. You can be good at your job, and still struggle with ho's and cocaine. I don't recommend Steve go out and start a 300 dollar a day habit, but at this point, he isn't consistent enough to be a #1 or even a #2 wide receiver. Stevie, this is your brain on spoiled, self-centered, narcissistic, thinking... Any questions?

For every big positive-yardage play he makes, #28 pulls five head-scratchers. -Keep Chandler, Add nick O'leary...Draft a new RB (OSU's Jeremy Smith)

And who's agenda is that? Look, Smartphones are great, I've owned a few myself... I just feel social networking is largely replacing normal human interaction. If you saw someone reading a book while crosssing a busy street against the light, would'nt you be tempted to say something? No? Well, Agree to disagree, then.

For the first time since being on this board, I have NO IDEA what to expect this Sunday. NONE. All I know about Lewis is that he cost me A LOT of money when he played at Duke. -F***ing guy covered every time I bet against him. -We're talking about DUKE, people... Years back, they used to be the weekly LOCK on board... Easy money... -NOT with that guy. Anyway, i'm prepared for weird. Literally anything can happen. GO BILLS.

Great post Dallas! Yesterday I almost ran this chick over as she crossed against the light at an intersection. B**** NEVER LOOKED UP ONCE!!!! -That is, Until I honked the crap out of her. At which point she glared at me as if I had interrupted a conversation. It's happened several times before too. Technology is evolving our society beyond the need for BASIC CAUTION. If there isn't some cool app for it, nobody cares. The train gunman could have killed them all in the middle of a f****ing worthless TWEET. Nice world we're making here...

Lewis has no one to throw to. Hackett still hasn't addressed the biggest flaw of his offense. A LACK OF EFFECTIVE WEAPONS. Watching all the big, strong, fast, Julius Thomas's, Julio Jones', and Roddy White's of the world have me wondering what the f*** Hackett was thinking when he cut Dorin Dickerson, Brandon Kaufmann, and to a lesser extent, Da'rick Rogers. -Are we supposed to believe that all three of those guys sucked? Ok. Is what we've got now better? Sure doesn't look like it. And then there's the horrible, horrible, playcalling that seems to expose our weaknesses, rather than exploit our strengths. Which are... Running backs with soft hands, and speed who can catch and run out of the screen... A receiver in Marcus Easley who is great at finding daylight... A TE in Scott Chandler who is physical at the LOS, and athletic. It isn't much, but we can do SOMETHING with that... Something more than what we're doing now. We still have a chance to make positive strides this season... Let's get moving.... One Bills Drive is on the verge of losing more fans to another "Stay The Course" regime of stubborn ignoramuses.

Stop-gap talent at QB won't fix a damn thing by itself. We need guys to CATCH what these QB's are chucking at them. We need less transparent, predictable, offensive planning. We need an OC who isn't scared sh**less to take a chance on improving our scoring capability.

Kid is frickin' awesome... Superman-diving over offensive linemen shows this kid is serious about winning. Kiko "EL FREAK-O" is proving to be a tremendous pick.

I agree 100% with the initial OP regarding Tuel. Expecting him to come through under those conditions in THAT environment was a tall order. I also feel that Hackett is completely out of his depth as an NFL OC. As far as mismatches go, I maintain, and will always maintain that Hackett cut the roster too deep. Brandon Kaufmann, and Dorin Dickerson are matchup headaches for coaches who can perceive that kid of thing. -For whatever reason, Nathaniel Hackett simply CAN'T. Bottom line: There are not enough useable, or reliable weapons on this roster to keep opposing defenses honest, and motivate our young QB's -WE NEED GUYS. We don't know what to expect from Goodwin when he comes back, and Marrone continues to IGNORE Marcus Easley's playmaking ability. We need more talent worked into this offensive scheme.

Signs of life from TJ Graham? x 100,000 I'm pretty sure that's rigor mortis! The ONE good catch the guy made isn't a catch at all if we were playing the Patriots. The damn thing hit the frickin ground! -The refs were incredibly generous in order to help ratings the next time these two teams square off. The second DROP was a beautifully thrown ball from Tuel that this little weakling couldn't hang onto... OP, I'm not sure what you were looking at, but you may need to look again. TJ Graham IS, and will CONTINUE to be a liability as long as he's on our roster. He needs to be cut, so we can sign an actual pro wide receiver.

We have limited offensive options for our rookie QB, and a terrible, terrible, secondary. The Browns, by contrast seem re-envigorated. They're putting up points, and getting key stops when they need them. Being at home with momentum on their side may be too big a hill for us to climb. I absolutely HATE to say this, but it's the type of game where we over-use what's been working for us (Fred Jackson) and get them hurt. I'm enjoying watching EJ get better, but he has MAJOR ball-security issues. The Browns know this too, and they WILL be coming after that ball. Fumbles, strip-aways, and INT's could be the order of the day. Also impeding progress is Nat Hackett's primitive offensive concepts. The man has no feel for the pro game whatsoever. -None. We're winning on pure talent, which we haven't got much of. (Also Hackett's fault) We could realistically get destroyed in a game like this one. Yes, it could be horrific. Brandon Kaufmann, and Dorin Dickerson would be nice to have. Hell, EASLEY would be great to see lined up out there... However Hackett's ingnorance, and short-sigtedness in evaluating talent has put us directly behind the eight-ball. Three (3) and only three Bills can sway the outcome of this game. Mario, Marcel, and Kiko. It's up to them to win the battles in the trenches. Without POWER coming off the edge, up the middle, and dominating the LOS, we're boned, -and that's putting it mildly...I'd love it if Duke Williams got a chance tonight, but that probably won't happen either. We're our own worst enemy heading into an extremely hostile environment, and something MAJOR has to give for us to have a chance... End transmission.

I think there's ONE way to win this game. Throw a safety or corner at Flacco with some frequency, and USE FRED JACKSON. -passing and running. Oh, and will someone get the memo to Hackett that EASLEY DOES IT! If defense gets a few critical turnovers I think we win this one 30-23 at the Ralph. -Whole new season if that happens.

The same "bad coaching" had Spiller trying to pound it up the gut when the Jests were reading it every time. it was 100% fruitless, yet they REFUSED to stop trying it! -Hate to throw the "I" word out so early in this regime, but it sure looked like incompetence to me. -GROSS incompetence, if I'm honest... Forget about what us fans see, it's unfair to a rookie QB to be placed in that position. What good is having the best QB in the draft, if the guy calling plays fundamentally doesn't understand offense?

Bradham is looking more and more terrible as the season wears on. Blatnick was the better LB, but that 'ole B-lo status quo still haunts this team. If Marrone is going to be a great coach, he'll have to stop being such a COWARD. Cut Graham. Cut Bradham. Bring back Blatnick, and Kaufmann. End transmission.

Respectfully, I disagree. I think the "development" scenario you describe could be effective for some. However, for many, the competitive route proves more successful long-term. Motivation is critical for development. No one is seriously talking about taking the ball from EJ Manuel -If anything, Tuel's presence could add a new wrinkle to an offense that is clearly a work in progress anyway. If that happens to make EJ nervous, I say GOOD. -Let him worry a little bit. Where is it written that rookie QB life should be care-free? I think a far bigger obstacle to EJ's development is the lack of weapons and creativity in this new offense. I'm watching these guys trying to pound CJ up the middle when it CLEARLY wasn't working.... TJ Graham cannot get any separation from defenders. Once he's jammed at the LOS, he is completely neutralized. Stevie is inconsistent, and immature... His selfish, undisciplined, antics cost the team penalty yards, which further disrupts EJ's development. So what exactly is leaving EJ alone to endure more reps in a bad system going to do for his morale? I support EJ 100% as our our starter. -However, the business-as-usual status quo guide to quarterback development may not work in the present environment. I don't mind Jeff Tuel's occaisional presence while things are being figured out.

quote name='BILLS 4 EVER' timestamp='1380136838' post='2922540'] From this recent list, here's the one's who are FAR better than Justin "torch my ass" Rogers. x 150,000 I was thinking Rogers' nickname could be something like "toast" or "the char-broiled one"