Prickly Pete

I am curious how much time Billick actually put into following the Bills this year. ANyone think he actually watched a preseason game, or just the highlights? Most of the national writers are clueless. I would think that to stay competitive, with the NFL being so popular, and with so much media coverage, that expectations would be high for these 'journalists". But maybe there are so many casual fans, that guys can just get by with parroting. It's awful.

6'1", that's the combine measurement, so it's probably accurate.

I am excited to watch him, and expect the offense to be great. I think that was a risky decision that I don't want to see him make again. If you liked it, great. As the tackler dragged Tyrod's leg, there was a DB that could have popped him real hard as he went down. We can bicker all we want, we will just have to see how he does. I believe he will miss some time this season.

I have considered us going 3-0, but there was discussion about what circumstances would be cause for Tyrod to get pulled. I'm happy with Tyrod, I'm not attacking him, or questioning his selection.

Tyrod's touchdown run against the Steelers, where he split the defenders at the goal line...if he keeps that up, he will get killed. I am excited to watch him, but I expect the backup to start a game or 2 at least. If the Bills start 0-3 (all crucial AFC/division games), and they are having trouble scoring....time for the backup. Of course, the season would probably be screwed by then anyway. I think Tyrod is going to light it up early though. I more expecting troubles later, after teams have more film of him.

I laughed!

There is no way they are cutting EJ. If they even wanted to get rid of him, he has performed well enough that they could trade him, to at least get a little back in return. Ian Rapoport knows less about what is going on with this team than most people on this board.

Ha, backpedal time! There is a thread filled with blather from a bunch of guys here (including you) claiming that Ryan is setting up a smokescreen, and what a big advantage he would be creating. http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/topic/180213-ej-will-start-pittsburgh-game/page-42

yes, Dibs.

I think the fact that EJM was playing with 3rd stringers was holding him back in the early games. He would have had better stats. That should be factored in. Against the Browns it was a real struggle with some crap play from the backups (those bad snaps were ridiculous), but he managed to keep things together. And TD's should count for more, no? How about "Points Scored"? I mean, if I was a guy that wanted Tyrod to look best, I would use your stats (Field Goals Attempted?...oh yeah,Taylor had that sack that led to a failed attempt), but if I wanted EJM, I could doctor some up a bit differently, yet they would appear just as "fair". Using the eyeball test, which I trust way more than these kind of stats, I think EJ has looked the best overall in the preseason games. I like Tyrod, too. And I will be happy to see him be named the starter (I have no idea what has transpired at practice, and have to trust the coaches to evaluate that part). I won't accept Cassel though. If he is chosen, I have to believe it is the coaches being way too conservative. I expect Tyrod.

Yes, he will. He has contributed greatly to many losses. Where that idea came from I don't know, but I guess if it gets repeated enough people will just start throwing it around. Matt Cassel is bad. He will throw bad interceptions, checkdown where good QB's throw downfield, throw weak passes over the middle, throw weak armed passes short of the first down marker, throw a Hail Mary out of the endzone, and just generally suck. Matt Cassel will lose you games.

Cassel the Clock Killer.

ha, no one would give them anything, MAYBE a 7th. They should keep him as the 3 because he knows the offense.

I would counter that, when the team sucks, injuries "linger a little longer".

Rivers talks a lot. I don't think that is the same thing as LOsman (a teammate), or Cutler. I still "covet" Rivers, and anyone with a brain would love to have him on the BIlls.

I posted a bunch of these. Most are from a Chiefs fan that compiled some gems from Cassel. Cassel is crappy. I might even go so far as to say that Fitz would be better. Game Winning Drives http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stat-analysis/2013/quarterbacks-game-winning-drive-study "Just another bad quarterback with small average deficits, great field position, few points and yards, the second-highest field goal rate and the third-easiest WP situations. None of Cassel's nine GWDs were against playoff teams." In other words, he doesn't get it done. They appear to want to approach games with the "just keep it close, control the ball, and win at the end"-approach, but Cassel is the wrong guy for that.

He actually hit the crossbar. It's hard to see, and for some reason a little of the gif. is shaved off the end. At the 25...with a chance to tie the game in the waning seconds....he throws it with everything he's got...right out of the end zone. The worst Hail Mary ever. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E7EnBP3ruc

I disagreed with the analogy. That's one of the things I don't like about him. They can put in "exotic stuff that no one had seen previously" with any QB. And he was talking defense I think, and it's not the same. Regardless of all that nonsense, I don't believe that the reason EJM is starting in this game has anything to do with misleading Indy.

Where did I say that? I think they are preparing for Roman more than anything, and that they have been practicing their base defenses to prepare for all types of offenses, and that regardless of who is the QB, they would be putting the packages in that they already have to match that style QB. They would be going in like that anyway because it's the first game of the season, and against an OC that is new to the team. I could be wrong, maybe Rex Ryan really gets into this kind of thing. I mean, he is the guy that had a player lay down in the endzone for a kickoff return. But I hope that he is beyond that kind of thinking at this point, and is concentrating on developing a QB.

"It's the chess match, dude" I think the talk of subterfuge is message board blather. I'm sure Rex Ryan is way more concerned with finding out what he has at QB, and at least seeing how the 1st team responds to each QB in a "real game". no, it's not.

Yeah, man. Like 25% of my gut tells me it's EJM, but then 35% of my gut says to me "no way, it's Cassel". And then outta nowhere, I get this feeling way deep down that says "hey man, get real...it's Tyrod". And get this, that feeling was 40%!

I think he Ryan is just showing the team that he has given EJM a fair chance in the preseason. "Nobody can say that nobody was given a fair shot here" (sic) He will probably give EJM a couple series, and hopefully EJM rises to the occasion. I think people are reading too much into it (and I am a guy that thinks EJM is the best choice).

How can anyone put a percentage on something like this?

Yeah, this smokescreen for Indy stuff is ridiculous.