Rocky Landing

Let's be honest. The biggest reason we have been out of the playoffs for so long is because of Brady*, BB*, and the Patriots*. For the past decade and a half we have been fighting for a wildcard spot. And, that is what we're fighting for this year. Coaches in our division have a higher bar to jump.

A media presser with Thurman is about as interesting as watching paint dry. So, it shouldn't be any surprise that the media hasn't focused too much on him. Still, that was a pretty weird presser. Not, for anything Thurman said, but for his body language. He's fidgeting so uncomfortably, that it almost looks like he has Parkinson's. If I were one to read too deeply into things, I might say that there was a lot of subtext in his body language.

If I were there, yes. I'd be giving him a standing O. And, I'd be wearing a Brady* jersey. With an asterisk where the number '12' would be. *

I'm psyched as Hell. I've been re-watching the games from last season and I've been reminded of several things: -When Karlos, and Shady were both active, our run game was fantastic. -Darby just got better, and better as the season progressed. -Mario got worse, and worse as the season progressed. -Corey Graham wasn't that bad. He just wasn't. In fact, our whole secondary was great, even with AW out. -As TT became more comfortable with his receivers, his game exploded. He finished the season MUCH BETTER than when he started. I am psyched to see Tyrod start the season as the undisputed leader, more prepared, and more comfortable. I am psyched to see the playbook opened up for Tyrod. I am psyched to see Clay be more productive. I firmly believe that he will be. I am psyched to see Watkins get the ball. I believe that he will see less double coverage, as TT passes, and spreads the ball around more. I am psyched to see which of our young receivers steps up. I know that at least one will. I've read that Dez Lewis is a "different player" after a season on the PS. Maybe it will be him? I am psyched to see Rob Ryan throw up on his belly late in garbage time after he has downed seven beers, and fourteen hotdogs. And, I am psyched to bring my six-year-old son, Bruno to the Bills @ Rams Game. He will be rooting for the Rams-- he is, after all, an LA native. And, I will be ruthless in my joy when the Bills hand them a righteous shellacking.

If Rex were a real leader, he'd tell Clay that he's "a big ol' rascal, too..." Maybe he could scratch him behind the ears, and give him a tummy rub. That's what a real leader would do!!!

Gimmick? I'm nonplussed. I have no idea what your definition of a "gimmick" would be. But, whatever. I'm completely uninterested with the Graham vs. Goodwin debate, which has no bearing on anything I can think of. Goodwin, as of this moment, is still a Bill, and Graham is long gone.

Optimistic prediction: Tyrod Taylor Realistic prediction: Ron Darby Bold prediction: Reggie Ragland Passes-the-joint prediction: Dez Lewis

Jim Schwartz. Either that, or Rex and Rob just trade places.

Look at it this way-- (WEO's concerns notwithstanding), we have a couple dozen WRs, TEs, and RBs who all need reps getting the ball thrown to them. Obviously, we need a "camp arm." And, from what little I've seen, and read, it would seem that this guy might be more useful, and probably a hell of a lot more interesting, than a Jeff Tuel, or Matt Simms, or that other guy whose name I can't remember. Apparently, his strengths are his accuracy, and a great long ball. Those are pretty valuable traits for a camp arm. Who cares how tall he is?

You think??? Right. I'm sure that whichever distances Graham's times were better were the "meaningful" events, and the ones in which Goodwin was faster were probably meaningless. I think...

The quote, "Maybe I relaxed a bit the year before when I thought I had a good year and proved myself a little bit," was said by Chris Hogan, sure. But Jerky put it under the context of, "Hogan is the dirtbag that said he didn't try as hard last year." That's a pretty nasty, and one would have to believe intentional, mischaracterization of the context, and intent of Hogan's statement. The actual context of Hogan's quote was in regard to his offseason competition to make the 53 man roster, and his own perception of his relative safety. How that translates to "dirtbag," only Beef Jerky could answer, although, quite frankly, I'm not particularly interested.

You never know when a slippery rubber matt might come sneaking up behind them.

This is taking Hogan's words out of context in a pretty nasty way. Anyone who doesn't think that Hogan was a dedicated Bill should have their head examined.

This is a pretty easy high road to take. Not sure why more aren't traveling it?

This is great. I hope we can get a lot more threads like this. Really interesting analysis, and subsequent thread discussion. Thanks, TurnerE.

So much for my parenting skills...

I don't agree with this at all. A no-huddle aims to keep a defense off-balance. But, as we saw with Jauron/Edwards, having a porous O-line did more to put the offense off-balance. Yes, the defense is limited in a no-huddle, but offensive play calling is simplified, as well. And, because the offense relies on making adjustments, and play calls at the LOS, the QB's options are diminished considerably when he has 2.2 seconds in the pocket. There's no reason to play "vanilla defense" against a no-huddle with an ineffective O-line. Edwards was blitzed constantly under such a scheme. And, because the play calling was thus simplified, it made it all too easy for defenses to pressure the hell out of him.

But, wouldn't you agree that the success of a no-huddle is also predicated on the QB having time in the pocket?

I remember Dick Jauron's failed No Huddle/No O-line offense that turned Trent Edwards into Captain Check-Down. I don't follow the Jags enough to know if their O-line is up to the challenge of a no-huddle offense, or not. But, I think that some analysts were expecting them to address O-line in the draft, and they didn't. I think. But the other question: Is Blake Bortles good enough? Or will he be ruined?

Maybe I'm a bit overly cynical (OK, I am overly cynical), but to me this guy acts a little like a stalker. He reminds me of some of the contestants on American Idol (don't judge me...) who whine, and cry, and plead with the judges that "music is my life," and then in their interview we find out they sell used cars, or something. If music truly was their life, they'd be performing in coffee shops, selling their CDs on the street, Soundclouding their mp3s, playing in subway tunnels with a coffee can in front of them-- whatever it takes to actually make music their lives. This guy should be trying out for the CFL, Arena Football League, or any of the other surprisingly numerous indoor, or semi-professional leagues-- not standing out in front of the OBD with a cardboard sign. So, this guy is passionate about football? No he isn't. He's passionate about "his dream," and his dream is to be a Bill, not a football player. And, dreams don't come true by begging. They happen with hard work. Two hours with a cardboard sign is not hard work. Almost nobody gets to step off the street and into their dream job, unless they are really, really, really good AND lucky. If Rex and the FO feel like milking some press by giving this guy another shot, and they don't mind people hanging around their offices with cardboard signs, then great. If he makes the team, I will respect him for his talent, not his ability to brave the cold with a cardboard sign.

So, how many more tackles should Graham have made? Or, is the point (as Firechan has suggested) that he should have made them closer to the LOS? Or, he let the ball get into opponents hands, and shouldn't have had to tackle in the first place? Or maybe graham wasn't the problem?

Are we likely going to start?

This as been an interesting thread to follow, especially regarding the back-and-forth between Bill From NYC, and The Big Cat-- two posters with whom I have a lot of respect. But, I have asked the question, and finally just now looked it up to confirm: Corey Graham was our leading tackler last season. Before anyone starts shouting at me about how "meaningless statistics are," I consider them a useful tool in assessing performance, and production, but not an assessment in, and of themselves. To whit: Dolphins' leading tackler- Rashad Jones (SS): 106 tackles, 29 assists Jets' leading tackler: David Harris (ILB): 67 tackles, 4 assists Patriots'* leading tackler: Logan Ryan (CB): 58 tackles, 16 assists Bills' leading tackler: Corey Graham: 96 tackles, 31 assists. Now, I do understand that stats never paint the entire picture. But, how is it that a player who "sucked last year" was so productive?

I agree with this.

Jeezus! 30 lbs of weight loss, two surgeries, a detached colon... I don't know, guys. How do you bounce back from this 100% in one season? I hate to be negative, and bash a guy when he's down, but... He was merely adequate when he was healthy. If he's back to, say, 87%, well... (...do some quick math, here...) I think 87% of merely adequate = inadequate.