BarleyNY

This is pretty much how I see it. I like to look at the season in quarters. I thought 2-2 over the first four games was necessary - as well as the most expected outcome (although they did it a bit differently than I thought). Over the next four, 3-1 gets them to 5-3 which is right on pace for 10-6. It's something that a playoff caliber team should be able to do. If that's what they want to be, they have to beat the mediocre teams. They've got three in a row coming up.

Also Gordon isn't going to be reinstated as previously scheduled, so how could he help the Bills now?

Dray was terrible last season for the Browns so I was surprised he made the Bills roster this season. I'm glad they found someone better.

. So far, so good.

Game was pretty much over at that point. Blount wasn't going far anyway. Gilmore had a great game overall so I'm not complaining. It didn't look good, but it isn't a surprise. The man is in a contract year. He's not going to take unnecessary punishment.

Can't we just enjoy this win for what it is? Why do some people insist on either diminishing it or making it out to be more than what it is?

I'll have to dig for the article. It was from when he missed OTAs and TC. The article said that he had one fracture that didnt heal on its own as expected. It wasn't missed or anything. Some fractures of that nature require surgery and some don't. They gave him the extra rest for it to heal. I'm speculating that the current problem is that same fracture. It could be a surgically repaired one that he's having trouble with - and it really doesn't much matter to us fans at this point - but I'd put my money on the fracture that kept him out earlier this year.

This. The problem isn't Luck, it's almost everyone else. That FO has done almost nothing right since tanking for him.

He had multiple fractures. The current one causing an issue was expected to heal without any sugery, but it didn't. He tried to play through it, but couldn't. Now he's having surgery to help it finally heal properly.

Jauronimo, you aren't getting your due for your contributions to this thread. Well done!

I care about the Bills wasting money on players because there's this thing in the NFL called the salary cap. If there wasn't, then I wouldn't care.

Totally disagree on the talent being low. The exception is at QB. Taylor doesn't seem to be taking the step forward that we all hoped for. An improvement at that position would help this team immensely. But to be successful it will need improvement in coaching as well. Rex has been a very big disappointment. It's not news that he puts too much pressure on the corners, but what I really didn't expect was that he'd be so inflexible with his scheme and personal. I also thought he'd have no choice but to help his corners more due to the rule changes over recent years. I honestly did believe that he'd be able to work with the talent here and adjust to current rules rather than have to re-tool an already excellent squad and continue to leave his CBs on islands so much. But he couldn't or wouldn't adjust. The coach's job is to get the most out of his players and the best do that very well. Rex's inability to do so is why he isn't a good coach and that's why he needs to go.

We were just being negative!

You mean an old, very highly paid QB that can't stay healthy. I'm happy to see that the "No!" votes swamped the "Yes" votes.

I agree on not labeling them. (I did not vote.) There's big a difference between calling out a move or decision as terrible and labeling a person as terrible at what they're doing. The Pegulas screwed the pooch here, but that doesn't mean they won't learn from it, move on and be better next time. That's what I'm hoping for.

The team is their property to run as they see fit, within the limits of the league's rules. No question. But by bypassing the head coach and meeting with the players (without the coach present) the Pegulas have undermined their coach. That will be a huge issue for every decent potential head coaching candidate once the inevitable firing of Rex occurs. Not to mention that he's got to coach these players for at least the immediate future. It was a shockingly Bush League move by the Pegulas.

It's difficult for any short QB to throw OTM. Brees is a big exception, but his accuracy and timing are impeccable. Even he still needs a very strong interior line to open passing windows and prevent interior push from the defense. It takes a lot of practice for receivers and QBs to get the timing down too. A secondary issue might be TE usage. I promised myself that I'd keep an eye on the TEs to see if they were blocking and/or chipping a lot in passing downs. Honesty, I haven't done as much of that as I planned because I haven't been able to bring myself to rewatch the first two games, but from what I did notice keeping a TE in to block on passing plays seemed pretty common. The coaches might not be asking Taylor to throw a lot of OTM passes because they don't think he can be effective doing that and they might need a TE to stay in to block because of RT play.

Feel free to blast the team for mismanaging EJ's development. I sure have in the past. And feel free to blast fans that think the team did a good job with him, because that's not how you develop a QB. I have no idea what EJ would be like as a player with better development, but the damage has been done, as you say. We agree again. But if you want someone's opinion on a tangential line of thought, ask for it instead of assuming. That way you're ripping the right people. The question here wasn't if EJ was properly developed or if that was fair to him, it was whether or not EJ would re-sign with the Bills. My answer was that there was almost no chance and I gave valid reasons for that opinion. I've yet to see anyone give a reasonable scenario where he stays. Honestly, if you were him would you stay on a team that mismanaged your development, benched you for years and has gone through multiple coaches in your tenure?

I didn't see anyone say he was the worst QB in the NFL. I sure didn't. (Funny seeing you post that accusation and then refer to yourself as rational.) The opportunities EJ was or wasn't afforded are no longer germane to the discussion. The pertinent questions are:1) At this point is EJ a good enough QB to want on the team next season? 2) If he is, could we keep him? The answers are "almost certainly not" and "even if he does turn out to be worth keeping, he won't want to stay here anyway."

I feel ya, bro! Married a Stillers fan myself. She's a big football fan too. Been a brutal stretch since '97 in that regard. I hate the Stillers even more than the Cheatriots. Have fun at the game and in town.

Wow, playing the "Real Fan" card. That's an exceptionally douchey move. Pretty much every rational Bills fan would only want players on the team that could help the team win. That would preclude EJ. It's too bad because he seems like a decent guy and finding a true FQB would have been monumental for the Bills. But, sadly, it was not to be. And most of us can see that.

It was talked about a bit here and there in other threads. Some recap from what I remember/think: - Taylor's passing stats through 2 games are pretty similar to his from last season, except for his QBR which is notably lower this season. - His rushing stats are down from last season. - Most have concluded that he's trying to be more of a pocket passer than last season (either of his own volition or due to coaching/play calls), but that he's been pretty much exactly the same as last season as a passer. Him being "the guy" through the whole offseason hasn't resulted in the growth we've hoped for.

Yeah, I'd think a 3 man rotation at Sam and Will is the answer.

Why would the Bills want a guy the other 31 teams don't want? In the remote possibility that he plays and plays well this season, he'll have other viable suitors he will almost certainly prefer. In the likely possibility that he doesn't play well or at all, then re-signing him will be a mistake.

Their likely course of action would be to sign a FA vet QB and then draft a QB to go along with Cardale. EJ re-signing with the Bills would probably only be in play only if neither could find another option. That's incredibly unlikely. The problem with that scenario is that EJ is a free agent after the season. The Bills would have to be his preferred option. That means there'd have to be no hard feeling about all the benching and being relegated to #2 for three straight seasons. The Bills also would have to compete for him on the open market. The odds of all that happening are incredibly long.