Maybe Someday

This was my initial response as well because I do recall players being in position to make the play on some of those long returns and not getting it done. Part of the problem was missed tackles but a big part of it as well was being undisciplined…not staying in lanes, keeping contain etc. Those appeared to be constant problems that never got corrected, which in my opinion falls on the coach. One of the things that really stood out to me on how much worse our ST were this past season was Leodis’ drastic drop off as a punt returner. 2012 – 23 returns for 431 yards (18.7 average) and 2 TDs. Long of 88 with 7 – 20+ yard returns. 2013 – 32 returns for 180 yards (5.6 average) and 0 TDs. Long of only 21, which was his only 20+ yard return. The fact that he didn’t equal his 2012 output is understandable because those are some great numbers but how does a dynamic return man fall off that much? He got more return opportunities yet didn’t even come close to getting half of the yardage or big plays. I’ve got to think coaching or lack thereof played a major role in that.

I find it funny that you refer to any time period within the last 15+ years as glory years. We did have a nice 8 game run in 2002 though!!

It's a sprain, no surgery needed...unless there is more to it that has not been released. Maybe he just needs to wear some knee braces. The trainers or someone needs to figure something out a way to keep this guy from spraining knees.

EJ out again this week...Thad to start.

Just got a message from Bills website. Mods, feel free to merge this into the other EJ thread. Just wanted to put this where more people would see.

This just in...EJ is out Sunday against Miami. Thad to start. Just got message from Bills website.

I've assumed it was because TJ is currently better than Goodwin at reading a defense and adjusting to what they’re showing.

Based on the 2 options available, I had to vote no. I don’t see any benefit to just cutting or trading him this offseason. As I said last year with regards to Fitz, find his replacement first and then move on. Don’t cut him and then try to find a replacement, especially with our draft history. I am all for finding someone better and then getting rid of SJ13. Regardless of production, how much he is getting paid is completely irrelevant to me until we reach a point where lack of available cap money is actually holding us back. He is a pretty good #2/slot receiver but I think both Woods and Goodwin are as well and have more upside. The only way I’d be on board with dumping SJ13 this offseason would be if we can find that big, prototypical #1 WR. I just don’t see how getting rid of SJ13 and replacing him with an unknown that could end up being like TJ, Easley, Hardy or any of the other WRs we drafted in the 1st few rounds makes this team better.

If the Bills move out of WNY, I’m done with them. I could never root for this team if they called another city home. My love would turn to hate in an instant. I would hate them more than I hate the *Pats, Jets and Fins combined. I don’t think I would start to hate the NFL because I do love football but it’s hard to say. I’d probably become a Panthers fan since I’ve lived in the Charlotte area for about 10 years now and have no real allegiance to any college team. If they did ever leave, I would hope the name, stats, history and logo will stay with Buffalo like it did with the Browns.

Sure we can...we just have to tag him again next year. We can then trade him to the highest bidder. His agent will have to work out the contract extension with the new team prior to that team agreeing to the deal. As for the subject, I think I’ll pass on Big Ben if the cost is a #1 and Byrd. That’s too much for a QB his age. He probably only has a few good years left and has taken a beating over the years.

Wasn't the 45 yarder the TD pass to Woods? I want to say play action pass right down the middle against Baltimore. EJ is starting to remind me more and more of Trent Edwards with his penchant to quickly dump it off. He needs a little bit of that Fitzmagic gunslinger mentality. I think he really missed Woods this past weekend. He also needs to learn how to throw a receiver open. Too early to put a grade on him but he has to at least stay healthy for the rest of the season so we have a better idea in what we really have. I don't want to waste next season too only to quickly find out that EJ isn't the guy.

I believe it was in February that he retired. Before the draft and before free agency began. If he was on the roster at the beginning of the season, I believe his full salary would have been guaranteed. So he did walk away from some money but it wasn't millions. He was making something like $700k this year so he walked away from about half of that. His salary for next season was not guaranteed. While you don't want a guy to quit on his teammates halfway through the season, If I'm on this team, I'd rather he walk away now than go half hearted and possibly get Peyton killed because he's not into it. Edit: I did a little research and found that he will leave an estimated $312,500 on the table for the remainder of this season and $752,500 in non-guaranteed salary in 2014.

I completely agree. At the time they weren’t huge signings (by media standards) but turned out to be very solid pickups. It’s not about flash, it’s about substance. I also like how they continue to try and improve the team during the season with signings like Stefan Charles. I though he played pretty darn well last week considering he had only been with the team for a week and probably barely knows the defense.

I'm sick of thinking about "the play" so I'll try to change the subject. Yes, I did notice Charles and was pleasantly surprised at how well he played despite just being signed. I saw him getting off some blocks and he seemed to be holding his ground very well. I hope to see more out of him as he learns the defense. Here's hoping he is a diamond in the rough!!! Anyone else want to talk about something other than "the play" or how bad Tuel is??? LOL

Is that you Russ???

You move out!!!

I’ve got to imagine his swollen throwing hand has something to do with the accuracy issues. His o-line isn’t what it used to be either. He’s getting hit a lot more than he ever used to. The way to throw Brady off his game was always with pressure and now that pressure is getting to him with more regularity and less blitzing. I think these have more to do with it than his lack of supporting cast…although I believe that also plays a part. Is he in decline? Probably yes but he’s still pretty darn good for a QB pretending to be a supermodel.

This whole whiteout thing is nothing more than a marketing ploy, just like wearing the white throwbacks against the Panthers. It’s not to pump up the team or anything like that. The Bills want to sell more jersey’s etc so they come up with a theme. It must have worked against the Jests a few years ago so they’re doing it again. I guarantee there are people out there who bought some white jerseys specifically for that game. The Bills spend a few thousand dollars on some cheap pom poms and probably make 100 fold in merch sales. I’ll bet you as well that some people will get into the stadium earlier just so they can ensure they get one of those pom poms which in turn leads to more concession sales. While I think the idea is lame, if it helps keep this team in Buffalo, then I’m all for it. I’ll wear my white jersey while sitting on my couch!!

What a player does in practice as opposed to on game day are 2 totally different things. With the new CBA, they can barely touch each other in practice these days so it’s hard to really evaluate a player. Plus this is a rebuilding year...I'd rather know by the end of the season what we have in every player on this roster so we can replace them if that’s best for this team rather than not knowing and end up carrying a player into camp next year that can't hack it.

I thought they got rid of that rule?? You (and others) are correct on the PS eligibility rules. http://www.sbnation....les-eligibility Eligibility Practice squads are considered to be for developmental purposes. Therefore, veterans are not eligible to be signed to the practice squad. In fact, players with more than one year of accrued NFL service are not eligible. Here is a closer look at the eligibility requirements. A player is eligible if he does not have an accrued season of NFL experience. Players gain an accrued season by being on the active roster for at least six games. If a player has one accrued season, they can still be practice squad eligible if they were on the 45-man active gameday roster for less than nine regular season games. A player is deemed to have served a season on the practice squad if he remains on the practice squad for at least three weeks. Players are eligible to be on the practice squad for two seasons. Players can be eligible for a third practice squad season if their team maintains no less than 53 players on the active/inactive list at all times. Also, to clarify my earlier post, I was not comparing Tuel to Brady, I was comparing the thought process of the *Pats* organization in Brady’s rookie year to the Bills thought process with Tuel this year…and hoping that thought process works out in our favor in the long run.

As long as the check clears, he'll work on anyone!!!

Here is my positive outlook on keeping Tuel on the active roster…we’re doing the same thing with him that the *Pats* did with Brady during his rookie year. They knew they had some talent and didn’t want to risk losing him by trying to get him on the PS so they carried 4 QBs all season long. Now if only the rest of the stars can align for us… I believe that Flynn will be the odd man out once EJ is healthy…unless his experience is paying dividends in the film room.

Right now, I’d say we’re somewhere around the lower half to the lower quarter but we do have some decent potential. The only proven guy we have is Stevie and I think he’d be a solid #3/slot guy. He makes some great catches but then baffles us with an easy drop and rarely makes a big play. The big plays he does have, just about any other WR in the league could make as well. I think Woods will end up being better than Stevie before too long…maybe by the end of this season. I believe that I am one of the few that is not ready to give up on TJ yet. Some of you all wanted to cut him last year because he didn’t light up the league as a rookie. WR is one of the toughest transitions from college to the pros. Most WRs can’t really read a defense all too well in college so there’s often a large learning curve. As long as a guy shows he can athletically handle it, he gets the benefit of the doubt from me for about 3 seasons. By the end of year #3 and certainly by year #4, if he still hasn’t proven he can hack it, then I’m ready to move on. TJ is one heck of an athlete that is still learning how to play WR. I for one am fine with giving him more time to see what he can do. I suspect Goodwin is very similar to TJ but don’t really know since we haven’t seen him yet. Hogan is ahead of Easley on the depth chart because he’s a very consistent route runner and is always where he is supposed to be when he’s supposed to be there. I do hope that we get to see more of Easley this year so we finally know what we really have in him. He did get some snaps against Cleveland but the few times that I specifically watched him, he didn’t appear to be getting open at all…maybe someone with All 22 access can confirm that. I read an article the other day (I was on my phone so no link) where Marrone was talking about the DB we called up. One of the reasons he gave on why we called him up is because we want to see everyone on the team in action so we know what he can do. We don’t want to get to the off season and then say geez, we’re not sure so we keep him around another season. Based on that rationale, I am assuming that if/when the playoffs are out of reach, we’re going to see all sorts of players getting some snaps. I’d really like to see Easley get a full game to get in the flow so we know if he is just a training camp legend/2nd coming of Steve Tasker or an NFL caliber WR.

If true means we need to open 2 roster spots. Who's getting cut?

Done!! Thanks for the excellent camp notes!!!!