Rocky Landing

It's not brilliant. It's silly. And, btw, I did in fact read the post. My comment was sarcastic. I simply meant that the thread is a waste of time. Are you actually suggesting that the "veteran leadership on this team" stand up in front of the press and counter the praise we've received in the media? To what end? Maybe you didn't read your post. You wrote: "players like fitz and barnett and wilson and yes now stevie need to be much more vocal about not listening to the hype..." That's hilarious. I can just see Fitz standing in front of a microphone, "hey guys, don't believe the hype, we're not that good!" And, I would love for you to give one example of ANY player saying or doing anything that would qualify as "delusional self adulation." The praise that the Bills have received has been well deserved. To say that "everybody and their mother framing the bills offseason as the best in the nfl," is an exaggeration. There are several other teams that pundits are citing as having the best offseason including the Patriots (Steve Wyche). Many believe that Tampa Bay has had the best offseason, and I would agree. GO BILLS!

I'm sorry, but that post is way too long for me to read.

Is Graham really going to be that much more physical? From the footage I've observed (admittedly limited) I thought he seemed less aggressive- more like a gazelle than a horse. On a couple of the highlights that were shown during the draft, I thought to myself: if Fitz ever hangs him out midfield, it might be the end of his career. That being said, he will certainly be faster than Roscoe.

I'm not exactly sure what you're talking about regarding Anderson. Are you suggesting that Anderson's performance last season should be considered above his baseline? Did he have games with a lot of sacks that you think should be considered outliers? Yours is the first post on here that I've read that doesn't consider him a good acquisition. Pleas explain.

* * * YAWN... * * * zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...............

Lee worked under Sparano in Miami, not the other way around. It is true that Lee used the wildcat quite successfully in Arkansas. But, that was college football. To say that he was responsible for Sparano's limited success in Miami is a stretch.

I'm not going to bet against the Bills! I'm trying to figure out if I should bet heavily at the Las Vegas Hilton with a 5.5 spread! However, if you're going to use the W/L column as a yardstick, where does that put Gailey?!

I'm going to assume that any former head coach in our division moving to OC for another team, also in our division, is going to know an awful lot about every team in our division. I'm not at all worried about our pass rush- especially against the Jets. But, I think it's going to be crucial for us to stop the run this season. I think we were 28th last season? It goes without saying that Sparano knows a lot about us. It's easy to read all of the crazy headlines (and even crazier Rex Ryan ramblings) about the Jets and dismiss them as a dysfunctional mess- they are. But, they also have some talented players, and I suspect, a talented OC. Good point.

I am not so quick to dismiss him. I think you could make the argument (many have) that Brian Schottenheimer is a loser. But, Sparano took over the Phins the season after they went 1-15, and took them to the playoffs with a 11-5 record. That's a pretty quick turnaround. And, in the two seasons afterward, the players were the most vocal in defending him. You're right about the disfunction in NY, but Sparano is most certainly used to dealing with disfunction. I would expect Sparano to solidify a run first offense and have a good idea of how to play to our weaknesses. He will also give Ryan the opportunity to focus more on defense which is, of course, his forte.

It’s just over100 days until the Bills take on the Jets in New Jersey. Personally, I think our improved defense and pass rush is going to lay Sanchez out. But, odds-makers still have us as 5.5 point underdogs in our first game and also have us ranked well behind the Jets overall. This doesn’t worry me so much this early in the off season. My biggest question mark is: Tony Sparano. Most pundits and Jets fans believe that Sparano will be a marked improvement over Brian Schottenheimer, and I would agree. And, as the former HC in Miami, I think it’s safe to say he’s got our number. I have read quite a few informed, inspired, and educated opinions on these forums. (Quite a few stupid ones as well!) I’m curious to read other Bills fan’s take on Tony Sparano as the Jets OC.

I agree with James Walker regarding the Bills standing in the AFCE. But, I'm surprised at how many people disagree. In fact, oddsmakers in Vegas still have the Bills positioned last in the division. The Las Vegas Hilton is even accepting bets for week one of the regular season (the only sports book I know of to take such bets so early) and have the Jets at a 5.5 advantage. And, the consensus is that the Dolphins are slightly favored over the Bills for the conference (18/1 and 22/1, respectively). Personally, considering the sad state of affairs in Miami, and with Rex Ryan saying such preposterous things as, "we will be like two different teams," I don't see how we aren't a better team. But, one thing I have learned is that the odds makers that the Vegas sports books rely on for their numbers are very good at their jobs.

I don't think the OP is a troll. But, how do you equate statements like, "RB ... Freddy Jackson... Another free agent pickup who starts..." or "Vince Young.. Backup QB... Most likely washed up," or "Chan Gailey... A big time loser with the Bills..." as national perception? Show me a serious media outlet that has referred to Gailey as "a big time loser," or has shown Jackson anything but respect. And while some pundits have expressed some wariness regarding Vince Young (a concern that I share), I don't remember anyone saying anything close to "most likely washed up." Come to think of it, maybe this guy is a troll.

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.