Rocky Landing

Beyond obvious that this was going to happen. OK, so now what? Manuel/Lewis/Tuel? I doubt it. Anybody have any predictions on what our QB situation will be at the start of preseason?

Yes, THAT Marc Sessler. That article you linked is from January 1st. Are you suggesting that NFL pundits should be consistent?

No, I guess I wasn't paying attention to Freeman's ONE GAME that he played as a Viking. I was, however, paying attention to Tuel, and if you think he's better, I would say you are a bit unhinged. You could make the argument that Lewis is better-- and I think you would have a hard time finding someone who wasn't a Bills fan to agree with you. Currently, pundits (including Marc Sessler, and Gregg Rosenthal) consider Freeman to be a top 3 FA QB. But Tuel? Be serious. Good God, I hope you're wrong!

Josh Freeman, also. He's only 26. Regardless, if we don't pick someone up in FA, are we going to draft another QB? In what round? And then Thad Lewis will be our most veteran QB? (I'm assuming Kolb is done?) I highly doubt it! And, again: I can't imagine that anybody thinks we are going to start the next season with EJ/Lewis/Tuel.

So much talk on this thread, and others about LBs, WRs, TEs, OLs... all real needs to be sure. BUT... I keep waiting for someone to bring IT up, in any of these threads-- whether it's regarding free agency, or the draft. But, no one brings it up. Does anyone think that we are going to just sit on the quarterback situation in which we ended the season? EJ, with Lewis as back-up. And Tuel? And Kolb somewhere off in the distance? Really??? There are some good quarterbacks out there in free agency. If we're going to be aggressive in FA, QB would be a good place to start.

My bold prediction: we trade for Matt Moore for another offseason QB competition.

I've lived in Los Angeles since '91 (born and raised in Rochester), and work in the motion picture industry. I have literally worked on, I will guess, around 300 music videos in my career. Maybe more. I have done two RHCP videos (quite a few years ago), and have met Bruno Mars on the two videos that I have done of his. I will say this: The RHCP are extremely cool people. Flea, who lives in L.A. recognized the dreadful state of music education in public schools, and opened a music school for young people in L.A.. And, they're great musicians- truly. Their music is literally seminal. Bruno Mars, on the other hand, is about 20 years younger than any of them, and could by no means be considered seminal, or ground-breaking, or even original. But, he is still "the real deal." The dude is about 5' 5" with pipes for days. He works hard, he's a competent and dedicated musician (guitar), he is committed to his craft, he writes, sings, produces, and has paid his dues in spades. In short, he has nothing to be ashamed of, and deserves every bit of success he earns. There was an internet petition a couple years ago lobbying for Weird Al Yankovic to perform the SB Halftime show, which I gladly signed. When that happens, I will be glued to the TV at halftime. Until then, I will be happy with someone who is "The Real Deal," like Bruno Mars. He will do just fine.

It's the way in which the behavior was allowed that bothers me.

How you jumped to that conclusion from my post, I don't know. Perhaps you're assuming that Schwartz is going to be our savior?

I just woke up here on the West Coast, turned on my computer to NFL.com and saw this story. My first reaction was that my heart sank. I saw a lot of dirty football coming out of Detroit under his tenure. Of course, this is only as a casual observer of the Lions. As bad as we've been over that past decade, I've always appreciated out team's class. Gailey benched SJ over an end zone celebration. Schwartz allowed some truly reprehensible play on the field.

I would think that given Marrone's recent statements regarding Manuel, and the lack of experience in our back-ups (and I am making an assumption that Kolb will not be here next season), that it would not be unlikely for the Bills to bring in another veteran in the offseason- hopefully someone a little sturdier than Kolb. So, to the OP: Would you please write another analysis outlining all of the various results from a 4-way QB competition involving Manuel, Lewis, Tuel, and veteran X?

I'm rooting for the Broncos for the sake of Payton Manning. The guy has had a legendary year, deserves a ring.

He's had three knee injuries in his first season, and not on the same knee. Is there any point in denying that he is injury prone? How many injuries does EJ sustain before we can all agree that he is injury prone? And, what does his weight have to do with it?

I doubt he will be available, but CLOWNEY.

The main reason that the league has stacked so many divisional games late in the season, with division rivals playing each other as close as two weeks apart, is to try to ensure that the late regular season doesn't become meaningless. Apparently, the league doesn't consider it laughable.

I think it's extremely deceptive to compare numbers like this. Nicks has been playing with Eli Manning for the last five seasons, on a team good enough to beat the Patriots in the 2012 SB. Of course his numbers are going to be higher. If Nicks' numbers were identical to SJ's, you would have to assume that SJ was the better receiver.

We're going to see over the next few weeks, as he will likely be starting for the 'Skins for their last three games. It seems likely he will be available, he played well in his few games last season. I said "intrigued" btw. Not, "lets bench EJ for him."

Josh McCown is 34 years old. Not exactly a long-term solution. I would be more intrigued with Kirk Cousins.

Does this men that next year is a "rebuilding" year also? This team should be renamed the "Buffalo Builds."

Easy there, pal...

Kyle Williams is practicing today?

I didn't forget EJ. I'm looking at it from game to game.

I'm sorry, but this is a ridiculous argument. Not knowing whether your team is going to face an injured Lewis, or a healthy Tuel is a slight wrinkle in game planning to face the Bills. Obviously, it has NO effect on the opponent's offense or special teams, and very little for their defense. For that matter, the Steelers not knowing whether they are going to face EJ or Lewis this week represents only a slight wrinkle for them. Throughout the season, our game plans have been consistent, regardless of who has been under center. Has anyone seen a big difference in our playbook? Our WRs are the same, our RBs are the same, we will run the same number of passing vs. running plays. Maybe Lewis would run the ball a bit more, but no one should expect either QB to do a lot of rushing. And their QBRs are almost identical. This isn't the difference between Rogers and Wallace in Green Bay, which caused an 8.5 point drop in the point spread for Sunday. The difference in game planning between EJ and Lewis is not huge, and is certainly not causing any schizophrenia in Buffalo.

Pretty interesting thread. I think it's worthy to note that while Vegas bookmaker consensus has the Bills at around 3.5 point underdogs vs. the Steelers, quite a few casinos have yet to post odds. This is also true of the upcoming Bears/Lions game, and it is safe to assume that they are waiting on who will start at QB. Obviously, if Cutler doesn't start, as he said he wants to, the odds will certainly shift to the Lions. (Bears are currently 2.5 point underdogs, I assume with the expectation that Cutler will play.) I wonder how the point spread would change between the prospect of Manuel vs. Lewis starting? Personally, I think it would be a wash. As it stands NOW, I think the Bucs and the Jags are the only teams that we would be favored in. Maybe the Falcons, but I think they will have some injured key players back by then. I doubt we will be favored vs. the Dolphins- unless their implosion continues, which I wouldn't count on. The Jets have pulled themselves together, and will likely be competing for the same spot, and possibly the division title, which would make our game against the Pats that much harder. Either way, I have a hard time picturing the Pats relaxing against a division rival, especially in Foxboro- regardless of the circumstances. But, of course, a lot could change. Winning our last seven games is certainly possible. many people have said that with decent QB play, the Bills are a legit team- and not just Bills fans. We could easily be favored against the Falcons AND the Phins by the time we play them. And, while the Jets have looked good recently, they have been wildly inconsistent this season and are thin at some key positions as are the Pats. As a fan, I always try to stay rational. That being said, I am still optimistic, and haven't given up on this season. Go Bills!

There are posters who use rhetorical phrases such as, "end of story," "case closed," and "(blah, blah, blah) pure and simple." Those who betray such a one-sided perspective and hold their own opinions in such high regard rarely bend to reason, and I generally ignore much of what they have to say. I've been a member of this site for a couple years, now. I rarely post, but I read it almost daily. The fans who take a reasoned approach, temper their judgements with facts (rather than emotion), and who are seeking opinions as much as they are presenting them, are the one's from whom I have learned much about football.