Rocky Landing

I think this is the most pessimistic post I have ever read by a fan. He uses whatever round someone was drafted in, be it first or seventh or whatever, as a criticism. Somehow free agency also makes someone suspect, like Freddy, "another free agent pickup who starts..." Put a little cream in your coffee, pal!

I don't think you can overstate how bad Jauron was with his no huddle offensive scheme being a perfect example of his incompetence. A no huddle offense without a decent O-line? If you look at teams with effective no-huddle offenses, they rely on fairly simple formations and a QB who can read defenses. The QB has to have time in the pocket. It's hard to run a no huddle offense and read defenses when the QB spends most of his time running for his life. I always felt bad for Trent Edwards. He never had a chance to develop. He was set up to fail. What last season's early success proved, if nothing else, was that Jauron had the talent to succeed. I'm not sure where that dope is right now- I know he spent some time with the Steelers after we canned him- but I wouldn't want to see him coaching Pop Warner.

I think 9-7 is a realistic expectation. I think 10-6 is not unrealistic. The oddsmakers currently have the Jets AND the Dolphins favored over us. (Amazing, but true.) I suspect that by the end of the preseason, we will be considered second in our division. 4-2 in our division, 5-5 outside our division.

I'm sorry to disagree with you guys, but the odds posted in Vegas are for the week one games in which the Jets are favored by 5.5 and the over/under is 42.5. Here's a handy Wikipedia link that explains the over/under pretty well. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over-under The only future odds that I know of beyond week one are for AFC, NFC, and Super Bowl championships. Currently, btw, the Bills are 50/1 for the SB. While I'm at it, here's another link that carries most of the Vegas sports book odds. You can expect to see some very different numbers once the preseason starts. http://www.vegasinsider.com/nfl/odds/las%2Dvegas/

Well, I am a betting man. Actually, what you are referring to is the point spread. The "over/under" is the bet on combined points. I believe the Las Vegas Hilton has the Jets by 5.5 and the over/under at 42.5. I'm hoping to be in Vegas in the next couple weeks and I plan on placing a decent sized bet on the Bills. (I currently reside in Los Angeles) I bet on the games every week (usually with the aide of a bookie, since I'm out-of-state), but I almost never bet on the Bills. But, occasionally, I make an exception. It is curious, though. Believe it or not, the Bills were favored over the Jets in week 9 last season by 2.5 points.

I don't know about their relationship personally. But, professionally I think they're an amazing duo. I think that one of the most brilliant things Chan did last season was to move Spiller over to wide receiver. Now that they are both at starting positions at RB, they are the perfect compliment: two very different styles that work the same position in different ways. Giving Spiller the chance to work at wide receiver (interpreted by some, at the time, as an inditement of his abilities at RB) gave him an opportunity to improve his hands and catching ability, as well as improving his understanding of routes. Between the two of them, they have every aspect of being a running back down. Freddie on the inside and CJ on the outside! Man, I can't wait for this season to start!!!

Well written conjecture.

I don't think too many people are basing his ability to succeed on the video. But, the video, and its popularity, make for some good press during the offseason, hence all the attention. I'm actually a little disappointed that he's left so quickly. 6'3", decent stats (albeit in div 3), and clearly a talented arm, I thought he would be a good addition to the practice squad as a back-burner project. I thought the same about Corp as well. So, are we really looking at Fitz, Young, Thigpen? Things could be worse!

This could also be influenced by Chan getting tired of having to talk to the press so much about Young. Having one player dominate the press conversations (especially a back-up) will make a head coach start to feel less like a head coach and more like an agent/middleman.

The Bills are moving to Los Angeles.

He won the first game against the Pats since 2003.

Dam Marino can barely read? Are you high? Along with being a well respected football analyst, he is a successful businessman and active in numerous foundations including his own. And, are you honestly suggesting that intelligence is not a requisite for being a good quarterback? Seriously?! But if you really want to talk numbers, Fitz's passer rating for the first seven games of last season averaged out to 98.2. That's pretty good. "Career numbers" cannot simply be taken at face value. Most of the statistics we use in analyzing football are meaningless without taking into consideration numerous variables which include the performance of other players on the field and the situation they are playing in. If you're really making an argument that intelligence in a QB doesn't matter, I'll bet I could name 32 head coaches that would disagree with you.

I'm pretty surprised that people on this thread are so easily willing to dismiss Fitz as an average (or worse) QB. Everyone on this forum should know his history and what makes him valuable. He is one of the smartest players in the league. (In fact, I read an article last year that cited him as one of the smartest professional athletes in all of sports.) His early success last season should be taken seriously, and the poor finish to last season should have been a surprise to no one (even without his busted up ribs). At the start of last season the number one criticism of the Bills was that they "lacked depth." We read this ad nausuem. Turns out that it was true. Fitz may not be the most athletic QB in the league. But, it takes a lot more than a good arm to be a great QB. Fitz has the intellect to be our franchise QB. I would take a smart QB with an average arm over a dumb QB with a great arm ANY DAY. I believe history would prove that wise. And, by any measure, Fitz is considered a genius.

Mark Sanchez, meet Mario Williams. You two will be seeing a lot of each other in week one. The Jets had a lot of trouble last season defending against the pass rush. And, other than a 6th round draft pick in OG Robert Griffin, I'm not sure that they have done much this offseason to resolve that issue. If our newly improved defense performs at half of its expectations, Sanchez will have a rough day. My prediction is that the Jets will trail badly until the end of the fourth quarter at which point Tebow will fly in and SAVE THE DAY. Ok, I'm joking on that last point. But, ironically, Tebow would probably do better than Sanchez against our D. Sanchez stinks when forced out of the pocket, and Tebow rather excels in those situations. My prediction: As a result of our improved pass rush, Sanchez gets benched in favor of Tebow. It's not a difficult adjustment for Chan and Wanny to make. Bills win it by six.

Honestly, I hate this thread. It's the offseason and I really want to be psyched and hopeful and optimistic and all of that. I want to have faith in Fitz and be supportive of him. That being said, I will add one observation to this discussion. As a lifelong Bills fan (born and raised in Rochester) who has been transplanted to Southern California, I have seen enough of that whining, pouty, sourpuss Phillip Rivers to know that despite his athletic ability, I wouldn't want him anywhere near the Bills. Year after year, the pundits tell us what a great, elite quarterback he is. And, year after year, we watch the Chargers, loaded with talent, spend half their season absolutely floundering. I couldn't care less how good his numbers are. I watch every Bills game. If I had to endure his bitchy tantrums every week in a Bills uniform, I would shoot my television.

Braylon Edwards. He's experienced. He's played in our division. He is a legitimate deep threat. His off-field legal problems notwithstanding, he works well with others. And, he is a bargain. We could get him for cheap and still have cap room. I like Burress also, but he is getting old- 34 or 35, I think.

You're completely ignoring half of his history. You can't seriously dismiss the debacle in Tennessee (which literally sent Jeff Fischer packing, whose career with the Titan started when they were still called the Oilers), as "a toxic fit for some reason." That's like saying of someone who died of lung cancer, "it was an allergic reaction to cigarettes for some reason." That "some reason" is pretty important and worth looking into.

In all honesty, I'd take Beck over Young.

Can't argue with it.

The question here really shouldn't be Young vs. Thigpen. We have to evaluate Young on his own merits. A Young vs. Thigpen comparison- sure, Young beats Thigpen out. But, Young is not the only option, and his abilities compared to Thigpen's are not the only concern. Young brings with him a whole raft of issues that we do not currently have to deal with. The question is: do we want to deal with them and what is best for the team. Thigpen's veteran status and journeyman ethics serve a purpose in Buffalo and have value. The potential for the back-up to undermine the starter is non-existant with Thigpen. Young has never struck me as a "team player." Hell, he pushed his own coach under the bus in Tennessee. What kind of allegiance will he have to the Bills? Chemistry matters.

Vince Young is a head case. I wonder what kind of chemistry would exist between Young and Fitz? Let's not find out!

I don't know, Rubes. Maybe I'm insane. Florence is 31, his production is declining, and we just drafted two CBs. Maybe he won't be cut, But I'll bet he doesn't start.

I think it would be a huge mistake to cut Alex Carrington. I also think it would be a mistake to cut Danny Batten. That's right, I said it. I think he's shown steady improvement in two seasons and will continue to get better. Honestly, I'd rather lose Merriman.