BarleyNY

Agreed. I think it gets done. Just prior to training camp is a logical time for negotiations to conclude. I think we are seeing some end-of-negotiations posturing. It is very unlikely that Gilmore would hold out, but threatening to do so might make him a few more bucks. Probably not, but it doesn't hurt to try. There's just too much guaranteed money on the line for Gilmore not to sign. And right before he steps on the practice field is a great time to do it. It's a time when his leverage is about as good as it gets and before he gets on the field and risks injury.

That would probably come down to reasons for the record and how the team was responding to him. I suspect he'd be retained for another season, but on a very hot seat.

Yup. When things heat up like this a deal is often close.

Lotta Kool Aid in that article. Some good points too. 1. Good work ethic - it's good he has it, but it's In the "necessary, but not sufficient" category. 2. Leads by example - that means he's not a vocal leader, but perhaps that changes as he earns his stripes. 3. Growth last season - agreed and he has to continue to grow. 4. Chemistry w/Watkins - sure some was built last season, but Sammy is going to have a short offseason to build more 5. Impressive in OTAs - good, it'd be a big problem if he wasn't. Still, it's a good sign. 6. Summer with the starters - it's good that he's "the guy" from day 1; that's very helpful In building cohesion with his squad. Sammy won't be ther tho. 7. Percy Harvin's replacement - no, he hasn't been found; the WR corps is very shallow after Watkins. 8. Deep ball helps with short throws - dunno about how that. It should've helped last season. He's got to find the short throws for it to help and that's a big area for needed growth. 9. OL returns - great news that Incognito, Wood and Glenn return, but not so much the right side. 10. Roman - yup, he's a good coach.

Agreed. As a player there's much more downside than upside to bringing him back in. Imagine the Bills signing him only to cut him when Karlos comes back. That'd be ugly.

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/these-nfl-teams-will-probably-start-hot-because-of-an-easy-schedule/ Was going to start a thread on this, but I'll stick it here. Fivethirtyeight.com's analysis of the Bills' schedule is showing that it is front loaded a bit. Just something to keep in mind when the season gets underway. A somewhat slow start wouldn't be the end of the world and a fast start would be especially encouraging.

Bill Murray is very high on my list. He is one of the few comedic actors who was able to transition to other kinds of roles. And he's still funny as hell.

Shia LaBeouf. The only exception is Holes, when he was a kid. Couldn't agree more. Awesome movie. Awesome character.

Only in Buffalo......

Yup, they can. It's all in the CBA. Josh Gordon can't have an alcoholic drink. But for what it's worth, pot will likely be removed from tested substances soon. The players will just have to negotiate it and probably give in on other PED testing.

This would be the missed drug test he swore he didn't miss? I thought so.

Whaley has made some good moves the last two seasons, but he's made a fair number of mistakes too. The big counter to your arguement is that Whaley has spent to the cap limit, but that's only gotten the team to a 17-15 record and zero playoff appearances. It is reasonable for fans to expect a team spending like the Bills are to be in the playoffs with a fighting chance. But they've just been middling. I haven't given up on Whaley, but I'm not totally sold on him either.

$41.3M in career earnings does give a guy options.

IIRC there we reports of both a hamstring tear and ankle injury when he missed games last season. I heard a report of lingering hamstring issues, but I can't remember where I heard that so take it with a grain of salt.

I agree. Swap Baltimore and Buffalo and things are better for both divisions. It'd make more sense.

He is vigilant in battling his imaginary foes as they commit terrible, imaginary acts. You've got to give him that.

We are on page 3 and no one has posted a single pic of the Jills. That's telling in regards to their popularity. I'll throw this in: I've seen teams bring in HS cheer squads for games. I understand why. It's a thrill for the kids to cheer at an NFL game. It's well-intentioned. But I hate it. There's just something deeply creepy about seeing kids cheer an NFL game. The stands are not filled with kids the same age as the girls and parents of school kids as they are at a HS game, they're filled with mostly older men in various states of inebriation. It's messed up and I hope the Bills don't ever go that route.

That's a good point. I have no idea how Sammy does finding the open spots in zone defenses.

Weak sauce, man. Not one respectable poster here has said that. He had a good 14 game season in which he performed very well in a limited role. He wants paid large at a time when unproven QBs are getting almost as much as proven ones. He's being asked to prove his worth and seems willing to bet on himself. We'd all love to see him get a huge deal, but want him to earn it this season. It's what Flacco previously did and it's what Cousins is doing this season. Why is it such an issue for you?

That's what I think the Bills are laying groundwork for now. Getting feelers out, seeing where players at positions of need stand physically and seek contractually. Then they're ready to move quickly if needed. The RB corps would need to take a definite downturn for me to want the Bills to sign Bush early enough to guarantee him his salary for the season, but I also don't know where Shady's hamstring stands. If he was expected to miss games at the beginning of the season I'd move now to sign Bush or another back. With Karlos set to miss the first 4 games, no way would I want to go into the season with what we have left. Heck, there's even a chance that Jonathan Williams gets suspended for his DUI. Anyone feel comfortable playing Baltimore with Gillislee and Boom Herron? I sure as **** don't. Who said that?

Two thoughts on Clay: - The Cover 1/3 looks the Bills have been getting take away the seam route, which I'd like to see him have a chance to run more often. He would also be helped a great deal by another deep threat opposite Watkins so that they'd see more Cover 2, which would match him up with a MLB/ILB in base defenses or 3rd safety in nickel/dime. - The play at RT is important for Clay. If he's regularly needed to block or chip to give help it will hinder his opportunities. Solid play at RT will enable him to flex more often and get into his routes quicker and more often.

I sure agree with the the first two sentences. I wouldn't mock it though. Not unless Miami gave him a stupid contract, which I doubt is the case. While Foster hasn't been able to stay healthy of late, but has been very productive when he has been able to stay on the field. He can help that team if they don't overuse him and he's able to stay healthy. If not, I doubt the Phins have much to lose.

I think it's hilarious that someone is complaining that things are out of whack when an 8-8 team finishes in the middle of the pack in attendance. It's like a manager complaining that employees are untrustworthy because they took 40% of their sick days on Mondays and Fridays.

Roman wasn't using Watkins as a decoy. The KC defense took Watkins away by doubling him. There's nothing Roman could do about it except take what that extra attention to Watkins opened up for the rest of the offense. Roman did his job. So did Sammy, but the other players on the field didn't execute well enough. Expect to see teams use a lot of Cover 1/3, often rolled toward Watkins, this season. This is why some of us have been harping on the team finding another quality WR, someone to make teams have to pick their poison.

Yup. Thanks for posting. It also illustrates why we'd be smart to get Sammy some more help.