Rocky Landing

Learned that lesson. I can understand why they don't have a comments section.

Notwithstanding your gloomy perspective, Gus: As the offensive scheme progresses, the QBs build rapport with their skill players, the O-line coalesces, the final roster evolves, and the QB who stands out above the others gets more reps with the first team in the offense that Roman is currently working to install, then yes, we can assume that whoever our starter ends up being will improve. Or, at the very least, we can hope. And, it's not such a far stretch.

Ndamukong Suh sacks Brady, and intentionally steps on his throat after the whistle, ending both players' careers. (The thread title didn't say it had to be a Bills player prediction...)

You're right, Gus, QBs only get worse as training camp progresses-- especially in a new system,

Thank you. This sort of "reporting" makes my blood boil. It's one thing to have an agenda based article, and media bias is a fact of life. Cherry picking data to support an author's claim is all too common. But, to intentionally misrepresent data the way Conley does, is to print a lie. And, to intentionally misrepresent another reporter's statement to further one's agenda? Unbelievable.

I'm not at all familiar with the author of this article, Trevor Conley, but I hope he's reading this. Grammar, and spelling errors aside (and there are plenty), this rubbish really shouldn't be considered journalism. This crappy article isn't just void of objectivity, it is intentionally misleading. A quote from the article: "Manule has gained 8-10 pounds in the offseason, with the goal of remaining healthy while taking an NFL beating. Manuel will just have to keep up the same work, because Cassel and Taylor had "moments that ranged from mediocre to awful."" That last underlined phrase is in quotation marks because it is a direct quote from an nbcsports.com article by Mike Florio quoting Vic Carucci with a link. Conley assumes that most readers won't bother following the link, and discover how badly, and dishonestly he is taking it out of context. The full quote reads: "As Carucci explains it, Manuel, Cassel, and Taylor looked unspectacular during the first week of OTAs, and they all had “moments that ranged from mediocre to awful.”" To remove EJ's name from that quote does more than a disservice to the Buffalo Sun Times' readers. It misrepresents Vic Carucci, and Mike Florio-- two actual journalists with whom Trevor Conley would pretend to be colleagues.

I still haven't seen any link to where any Bills Coach, or any reporter covering the team has said, "These quarterbacks look bad..." There have been problems that have been reported-- Cassel had a poor second half of practice, EJ overthrew someone, etc. But, nothing to the degree that we saw with Garrapolo the other day. But, more to the point, we haven't seen anything that is even remotely surprising. There haven't been any meltdowns, everyone is, more or less, who we thought they were, and everyone is still working hard to improve. (If anything, Tyrod has been a pleasant surprise.) The question should be. "how will they improve between now, and Sept, and who will be most improved?" "Who will be the best fit?" This constant hand-wringing over how "bad" our quarterbacks are is neither enlightening, nor relevant.

You mean game 17, right?

Fred Jackson gets two touchdowns in game 17.

(too soon on the RW joke?) Don't we have $7mil in cap space this year? And, wouldn't the cutting of Williams add some more? And, couldn't we sign him to a one year deal? And isn't that about the best he could expect at his age?

Ralph speaks from the grave...

It's the acceptance of such blanket statements as, "we have 3 QBs competing who aren't any good..." that leads to taking other statements like, "we don't have LeBron at quarterback..." out of context, and declaring that none of our QBs are "worth a damn." Cassel throws a few balls poorly in the second half of one practice in front of the press, and suddenly, "we have guys struggling to throw the ball in shorts..." I understand the pessimism. Obviously. It's a way of life, here. But, overstating by oversimplifying doesn't do much to add to the conversation. But, I do understand the pessimism. ...sigh... I do.

How are they "all in" on Miller? He's a rookie getting paid rookie money. And, it's June. Sure, the coaches have all talked about how impressed they are, but that's a far cry from a commitment to him as a starter. At the end of a three year contract, he'd be 37. But so what? Sign him to a one year deal for a fat salary and cut the bum, Williams.

And, I sorta doubt that Rex has the patience to wait that long...

The world needs misanthropes like GG.

I've never been too clear on the cap space issue, but I think we only have about $7mil left. Can we afford this guy?

The fans who tend to underestimate players (or overestimate them ) are those that prefer to form their opinions first, and then selectively choose the stats that back up their claim. I don't see any value in that approach. Cassel had two exceptional seasons, and a handful of crappy ones. I think (although, not being a Minny, or KC fan, I can say for sure) that that had to do with the amount of protection he had at the line. At least, that seems to be the consensus. I don't see any reason to believe that he played well for two seasons by accident.

There's certainly something to that-- much more so for Tyrod, than EJ. But, I think you (and most people) are underestimating Cassel. I think that going into OTAs, it was generally assumed (by coaches, and pundits) that Cassel was the more accurate of the three. I'm not sure if that is still the consensus, as Taylor has been impressing with his accuracy. But, if our front line turns into an efficient unit, that can maintain the pocket for an adequate amount of time, I believe that the QB who performs best in the pocket will win the competition. I don't think that Roman will be game planning for the QB to scramble, unless he has to. I tend to think of Cassel as something of a known commodity. I don't see any real mystery between his rotten seasons, and his decent ones. To me, that means that neither should be discounted, and if he is afforded the protection he was at KC, and NE, he should be able to play up to his higher level. If that happens, I think he wins the job. Unless, of course, EJ or Tyrod make serious gains on what they've shown in the past.

If you watch that interview with Rex where he makes that LeBron comment, he is being a bit coy, and evasive. I certainly wouldn't have interpreted his comments as, "they are not worth a damned," any more than I would interpret it as the rest of the NBA not being worth a damn. Clearly, we do not have a top-rated QB. That is the only way I would have interpreted his, or the media's comments.

Seems to me that Cassel has played well when he's had good protection, and poorly when he hasn't. I don't see it as a question of him "suddenly improving." If anything, he is a known commodity, and if he fits the offense, we know what we are going to get from him. If our front line plays up to his needs, I would expect him to start. If it doesn't, and we need a passer with better mobility, more athleticism, who can perform out of the pocket, I think they go with one of the other guys. And, we're probably screwed at that point, anyway.

I had forgotten how satisfying that play was to watch. He absolutely dusted Cromartie. It's also a play that makes one think that maybe EJ could be the guy. And, there's the rub-- That play couldn't have happened without the ball being right on the money. But, you're right, that speed is unique. I don't mind the thread being hijacked for a page or two in the least. I come on here to learn, and I usually leave the discussion with my opinion tweaked, if not entirely changed. Unfortunately, this might be the one element that makes him ineffectual as a Bill, this season. I wonder how he would do if he were picked up by a team like the Chargers?

I'm seeing a bit of a contradiction in your argument. I understand his value as a downfield threat. And, I understand his value as a decoy, drawing out the safety. But, isn't that exactly the way he was used by Marrone, last year? Without a reliable arm throwing him those balls? And would this be why he only caught one out of nine attempts? If we have a better downfield arm throwing to him, then maybe I would agree with you. Do we? If not, and we continue to use him in this way (and, how else would we use him?), it will take two handfuls of snaps to get one big play out of him, and I don't see how that translates to making an impact when it matters. All that aside, it's an interesting discussion-- what do we want out of players lower on the depth chart? I think that some posters might think I'm nuts to suggest we should keep Lewis, a rookie who graded rather average in the draft, over Goodwin (and they're probably right). But,I feel like our lower WRs should be either reliable, versatile (Hogan is both), have unique abilities/attributes, or be an intriguing project. (Lewis is both of the latter, imo). You might consider that Goodwin's speed makes him unique. But, we have two WRs as probable starters who will make big, downfield plays, and both will be effective decoys for the running game. That is what I feel makes him redundant. And, he does not seem to be reliable, and certainly not versatile.

Playoffs. I'd like to see Fred Jackson play once in the post season in his career.

Was Hogan not above Goodwin on the depth chart all last season? He was certainly more productive, and on the field a lot more. For the record, I don't think that Lewis is better than Goodwin. He's a rookie. But, I think that we are so deep at WR, that Goodwin's talents are redundant, I don't see him working the slot, and he has not been nearly productive enough to keep him on this deep roster. Lewis is raw. But, his talents, were he to excel in TC, would be unique.

From Rex's perspective, might this more likely be Tyrod? They are both 25, and the argument could be made that Rex seems more invested in Tyrod. Were it a three-way tie, who do you think Rex would go with? Or, if it's a tie between EJ, and Tyrod, does he lose Cassel? Or hang onto the vet, and go with the "young prototype" that he prefers?