Mister Defense

Hello? Anybody in there?? Have you been paying attention to practice, games, comments by coaches??? I would love for Manuel to start to redeem himself, to play a perfect game Thursday. And this would then possibly earn him the start for game 3. BUT, very unlikely! Just because we want something to be so doesn't mean it will. We are adults, I think, and there is zero evidence, and I mean that literally, to point to Manuel being the backup--and to Cassel being cut. Wake up!

Yup, ignore all of the facts coming out of camp the last three weeks and 'guarantee' that Taylor is the starter. I hope that he shows he can stay in the pocket and calmly lead his team with his arm. Then the running will take on much more significance. He will need to do it in camp and in the preseason games. Rex Ryan is going to go with the most accurate and consistent quarterback, which has been Cassel from all training camp indications. I hope that Taylor or Manuel take the bull by the horns and rise to the challenge, but enough of this nonsense, ignoring the facts and just spouting off. Since you guaranteed this, what are the consequences if this does not happen? A guarantee without anything behind it is worthless.

Nope. I have never seen a Bills pre season broadcast where the sound was like this or where they dropped the ball on replay like this. I have been watching these games for about 30 years. Not an excuse that it is locally produced, as Buffalo is not a small rural town, but a big city. And the Bills are over a billion dollar business.

No, as I think that was the plan, to have Tyrod start the 2nd preseason game. At this point, it was very clear that Cassel and Taylor are 1 and 2, so they wanted to give both a shot to start one of the two preseason games. They don't feel Manuel, at this point, is a viable staring NFL quarterback. Taylor would have to look dramatically more comfortable in the pocket to have any chance of being the starter. And that seems unlikely with the season a month away. If not, he would end up as a one trick pony, easy to stop by most NFL teams.

Wow, hard to imagine another NFL production being as bad as the Bills last night, with the basics just ignored. It was as if no one on the production team was watching what the viewers were. It seems like broadcasting 101--to watch it as the viewers do to make sure everything is working well. I want to know if the Bills are responsible or a tv station for preseason broadcasts. Who produces these preseason games?

This just makes zero sense that people keep saying things like this. Cassel clearly is in the lead now, the most consistent and the most safe, as seen by his domination in the playing time with the first team and by comments by the coaching staff. In my view, Taylor would really have to light it up for the next two weeks, and have very few negative plays, to even be considered the starter in week 1. For Manuel, he would have to do even better than that to have a chance to start. Cassel is in the lead, and it would take a great run by either of the other two to unseat him. I definitely hope this happens, that Taylor or Manuel make that dramatic move, but for people to keep seeing something that is clearly not there doesn't make sense. It is clearly Cassel's job to lose, whether we like it or not.

Great seeing the Bills in game action again last night and mostly encouraging signs, I think. But this was the worst quality broadcast I have ever seen in a Bills game--ever, even the preseason. First and foremost, the sound was horrendous. You could not hear a great deal of what the announcers said as they were drowned out by the crowd and other noises. They were often just a sound like all the other game sounds and you had to sift through it to somehow get the gist. (I tried all combos of sound options available on my tv, but to no avail.) I was sure that this would be noticed by the producer and immediately corrected. Instead, it was corrected in the middle of the 4th quarter!, after we had missed a lot of what Jim Kelly said that quarter. And almost equally poor was the lack of replays. Big plays, bad plays, penalties...we expect to see these again throughout the game, have come to rely on these as viewers. But they completely dropped the ball time and time again. What happened on that play? I found myself saying so often, but very seldom a replay. (In the process of getting an upgrade on cable equipment that may have made this aspect of the broadcast less of a problem, but not there yet.) So, they dropped the ball, big time, on two essential elements of an NFL broadcast. How can this be? I wonder if they realize it now and if it will it be corrected by the next game. So, did anyone else feel the same way? We wait all year to see the Bills in game action again, so disappointing that these things happened--and more important, that they continued throughout the game. Inexplicable that these errors were not discovered and then fixed during the game. This is the NFL, not a high school broadcast.

Very funny. But he may also end up being a good player. From Wikipedia: Enemkpali attended Louisiana Tech University from 2009 to 2013. He was selected to the 2012 First Team All-WAC and All-Louisiana First Team in his junior season. He was named as the 2012 Fred Dean Defensive Player of the Year in junior season. He was selected 2013 First Team All-Conference USA and All-Louisiana First Team following his senior season. He was selected as the 2013 Willie Roaf Lineman of the Year in his senior season.[2] But he also punched a cop when he was 19. I think Rex wants some players like this around, wants to toughen this team up.

Well, he looks fast, with great footwork, elusive, and powerful in the highlight video. He had a great junior year. Anyone know if he was injured as a senior?

Great coverage, clear and pretty comprehensive. Thank you! And excellent to hear that EJ had a day like that, hope he continues to progress.

Happy Birthday, Marv!!! Even now you could out coach 90% of the coaches in the NFL.

I am confused about the negative reactions in this thread: --Why is this link not appropriate to some, just a way to get viewers? --Why is the video, a pro wrestler having some fun with the Bills a long time ago, and upon his passing, not acceptable content on Two Bills Drive? Curious to know the answers. I enjoyed it, hadn't seen Rowdy Roddy for decades.

One should not be permitted to use the word "keen" in a post.

Jim Kelly Brue Smith Thurman Thomas Andre Reed Daryl Talley Kent Hull Steve Tasker Cornellius Bennett Joe Cribbs Shane Conlan

Spikes was a good leader and player for the Bills last year. He made a huge mistake. But that should not mean the end of his career. The Bills should sign him. This would not cost a great deal. They would get a very good player for a low price and Spikes would get an opportunity.

Yeah, if you are saying that Jackson really has no role, I agree with you. I have liked him a great deal as a player, but he will not play a significant role this year unless he found some kind of fountain of youth in the off season, or unless he was more injured last year than we know. We are better off spending money on an area of need, thank him for all that he did, and move on. The Bills may be close now, have the defense, offensive weapons, the special teams. But they need O-line help/security and QB help/security. They are running low on funds. As much as I like the guy, know how hard he has played for the Bills, I cannot see holding on to him in this situation. Great teams, in my view, like the Bills of old, know when to move on. They almost always cut ties when it was needed, no matter the player. It is time now.

Super ugly and would feel like sitting in a dome. Hope the Bills don't go in this direction, but it would be great to see the Fins play in this monstrosity!. People who love football want to sit outside, in the sun, the snow, and we'll take the rain as part of the trade off. Yuk. Hope the Pegulas speak up soon and put the kabash on any domed or partly domed stadium. I would much the Ralph than some crap like this.

Yes! It looks great. A real football stadium--no dome! Anyone who loves real football, and has spent any time in a giant living room like the Carrier Dome, knows that they would no longer be the same football team with a roof over the stadium. Hope this becomes a reality. Let it snow, let it blow, it's Buffalo.

Maybe the best reason so far to bring in Trestman...

I think this is the primary reason for my suggesting this. EJ wants to lead this team, we want him to succeed, and the defense is there for a deep playoff run. The Bills will not be picking in the draft until the 48th pick, so coaching must be a priority now. Once you bring in a guy like Trestman he would be able quickly determine if EJ can be a winning Bills qb; if not, we move on. And trust Trestman to help select someone he could groom into a winning QB.

Yes, hate it when these self appointed board monitors do this, just spout off. We better start speculating, as Hackett is in over his head. The offense did not improve, the weak areas seemed to get weaker and almost all of the offensive players seemed to have down years. Reading his quotes in a recent Bills article helped to solidify my position--Hackett sounded like an over excited high school kid: unfocused, rationalizing, and lacking in the kind of deep knowledge/experience needed at the NFL level. He needs to head back to a college team to get much more experience. Someone like Trestman would be very welcome by these players, and could turn things around in one year. There is much more talent on this offense than it appeared this year. The surest sign that coaching change is needed.

Yes, I have let him know what a good job he is doing. The Syracuse paper sucks, in general, in NFL coverage and in Bills coverage specifically, mainly because Polian is not a fan of the NFL. So, great this year to have actual, specific coverage of our local NFL team. Fairburn is good also because he tries different formats and structures in his columns, so is not afraid to think outside of the box. Hopefully they make him a full time employee now!

He, like so many others, did not make it as a head coach, but was an excellent offensive coordinator. He had dramatic success as an OC in San Fran, Oakland, Detroit, Arizona, often creating some of the best offenses in the league seemingly out of nothing. Just as significant: he helped to turn average quarterbacks into pro bowlers: Gannon, Mitchell, Plummer He seems to be just what the Bills need now-- very fresh perspective on offense and someone capable of developing a young quarterback properly, whoever that QB is next year.

EJ may really benefit from having someone like Palmer around, someone who knows the game. Tuel will learn from him too. A good move.

Well, that would be a great season, Kollege! Seems like a smooth, effective year with those stats--and with the skill players on this team and this defense, well, anything could happen. But those are pro bowl type numbers. Has EJ shown he could do this?