Mister Defense

Wow, what a BS move, a move made by a losing team, not a winning one. To do that to EJ, completely shatter his confidence after giving him some hope about his future with the Bills. Just got home and saw the headlines, so maybe reading about it will ease my mind, but on the surface at least it is the worst move this team has made in some time. Inexplicable.

As a Central New York resident, I like that Matthew Fairburn is on the job the last 2 (?) years. He is fact based and very objective, straight forward, in his reporting. Good variety of topics as well. The Syracuse paper has had the worst NFL coverage of any major newspaper I have read, so good to see that they made a small step in the right direction by hiring this good young writer to cover the Bills. He just needs to end his pieces in a stronger manner as sometimes they just fizzle out.

Good, wish that was the uniform they wear whenever possible--sharpest, clearest, and, to me, best matches my image of the Bills. Maybe not a great choice in a snowstorm though!

Just got home and saw this. Wow. Really surprising. Looking forward to reading all about this and the reactions. Could the conspiracy theorists be right!? Nah, but extremely interesting....

Huh? Have you even read today's article with Martin's quotes? He was a fragile mess, by his own volition. Just bashing for the sake of bashing here vince, with nothing of substance in your attack. And you go after all of TSW. So, I guess it makes sense that you feel this way as it is what you do here yourself--irrational bashing.

Thanks. Do you know why?

I tried to cut and paste the link on the post and then to use the link thing at the bottom. Both times it said that you cannot link to that site (Bleacher Report). But I see the link added above: how do you add the link? (For future reference.)

Reading the BR article out today it is clear that Martin has led a very sad life and that he is an extremely troubled and insecure person. He contemplated and attempted suicide on numerous occasions. I am not without empathy for Martin, but it is clear that this now retired player is not someone who was capable of dealing with normal life pressures. Of course, a career in professional sports means a great deal more pressure. Incognito's life and career were almost ruined by the accusations and fallout. To me, the article, Martin's words especially, put things into better perspective and made me understand more fully why so many in the Dolphins' locker room supported Richie.

What is with people that do this, comment on the 'yet another thread' idea? Who are they to decide? So useless... What a waste of time. The OP is doing something different, writing an editorial of sorts, one he did not want to get buried in the myriad other threads that so often lose their focus as they progress and progress and... And he makes an original point, I think, one I have not seen recently. And like many of the posts that I like and that get a lot of traction, he is putting into words what so many of us have had in the back of our minds but have not fully realized, have not put into words. I think he is right about EJ, what he could bring that the other two probably cannot. Does this mean if I was the coach I would start him in game one? Well, such a rare thing for a coach today to look at the long term as Simon does here. So, almost assuredly not going to happen.

OP: Very true. I live out of the area but have been listening to WGR a lot this summer online to get training camp details. Murphy seems to be one of the very few broadcasters not ripping into Manuel. They are defensive, and as the summer progresses, do not seem to want EJ to suceed. And as he has done well in games they have seemed to up their attacks, almost as if they are nervous that they were wrong and he could become a high quality NFL quarterback. Their biased comments and attacks would, of course, look even worse if this were to happen. I am not saying that Manuel should start, as he has not been consistent. But he has looked more like an NFL quarterback each week. By being so negative they have lost their objectivty and are not reliable and trustworthy. Too bad, as there are not althernatives on Buffalo radio to my knowledge, and we want to breathe Bills this time of year and will take what we can get. (Or are there alternatives on Buffalo radio?)

Yes, true, all on the line, and Manuel came through. No longer is he in the 'vicinity' with his throws, no longer do players have to stop and come back to get the ball, but he hit his receivers in stride, with the ball almost always in excellent position. What can he do with the starters in there? (The Bills starters and the others team's as well. ) We need to see. Start him next week, let him have a half and see how he does. He has outplayed Taylor and Cassel in 'actual' games, so give him a shot. He is a very different quarterback now, yes still developing, but he looks like he is ready to take the next step and become a solid NFL starter. He looked good consistently tonight, doing things he only did well sporadically in the past.

I agree that the coaching, the overall play of the offense, and the offensive line play--really, in all of these, the poor coaching was a significant factor--makes it very hard to evaluate last year's offensive players. And I agree that McCoy likely would have been much less effective as well. But Jackson has looked slow the last few years, and especially last year. And the relentlessness and explosiveness that were the hallmarks of his running style seemed significantly diminished. In the past so often it seemed he was tackled but then he would explode out of the pile and keep going... That is no longer the case. Yes, I am hoping that those skills that seemed so diminished last year were the result of a poorly functioning team and his injuries, but it seemed like more than that, like he hit the wall. We will see this year... I would love it if you are correct, that Jackson returns to form and is a central figure in the revitalized Bills this year. I think this can happen via his receiving more than his running, though. He needs to be in open space catching balls and not plowing through a line like he once did. I hope that is how they use him. However, as much as I would love to see a major resurgence by Jackson, images of him running last year keep popping into my head..

Okay, I see your point, especially in a few of his posts, ripping Fred apart. I have loved Fred as a player, thought he was the league MVP the year he went out, and he has been a dedicated Bill on and off the field. If the Bills had any playoff experience and success with him, he may be considered a Bills icon. (Not his fault that was not the case.) Although in attack mode when he said it, Buffaloed did echo one of my points. He said that the Bills once let their superstar players go when they were on the decline. To me their ability to keep reloading, letting players go when they were on the decline, was vital in keeping the Bills so good for so long. I think Jackson is too expensive for what he will likely bring this year and that the other runners on the team can really wear a defense down. If we have enough of them that will mean a relentless rushing attack. But, yeah, his posts are sometimes so filled with emotion and anger that he seems to be doing the same thing he accuses others of doing--letting emotion drive him. So, shoot the messenger, but some of his ideas are sound.

Okay, thanks, will do so.

Why say this? Because he expresses a clear and logical point it is somehow based on animosity toward Fred? Sure glad posters like this have no actual say in decisions the Bills make. How well this team runs will determine their record to a large degree now. We need runners who can carry the load, run through people still, and make a big play. Fred has not been that kind of runner for a few years. May be time to move on. I think Ryan calling out Brown is the same as his calling out Henderson--he knows the player can play, but wants him to take the next step. He can run fast still, break tackles, make moves and will likely prove to be more durable, has almost no NFL wear on his legs and body. The Bills cannot make emotional decisions like this poster and still take the next step..

Come on, calling BS on posts like this with zero to back up ridiculous statements. Yes, this may be the case if McCoy, Brown, Karlos Williams all go on IR, as they are all much better running backs at this stage. He has been a very good Bill, but almost zero chance that he is the most effective running back on this team. If one of those actual top three backs on this team is cut for the sake of Jackson's honorary position that would be a very bad sign. In run after run this summer all three have run like Jackson has not for several years.

Very well said And we know that Manuel can win some games if need be. He is coming along, not ready yet, but has the tools, so still possible. Who can the Bills get as a better insurance policy now? If they were without EJ, he may just the kind of player they would be looking at to bring in to the fold. Very unlikely that the starter remains healthy enough to play every game this year, so illogical to cut a decent and improving quarterback who will cost nothing. Keep him, see how he progresses, and go from there..

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.