BarleyNY

Thanks for keeping things classy and civil.

It seems as though the week the Bills have just had, with the Shaq Lawson shoulder surgery and revelation of Watkins' foot surgery, led to a highly emotional few days. We all read what followed. Thankfully things are starting to die down.

Thanks. I was wondering if it was a labrum. I tore mine almost 20 years ago (bench press), but waited about 8 years to get it fixed. I can understand why people thought he could get away with waiting for surgery. I was fine except when I made that specific motion. But that exact motion was excruciating. It felt like my shoulder was popping out of place (which, I was later told, was exactly what was happening). The good news is that Lawson is going to get the best care. I was very lucky in that regard, too. I went to the Cleveland Clinic and got an Ortho who was known for being a go-to guy for MLB pitchers. But he is going to have a long road back. His arm will be immobilized for a couple months. The atrophy in my chest and arm was unreal after that. He's a lot younger and in better shape than I was - which is great - but he's playing in the NFL now. Lawson not only has to heal, he has to get strong enough to make sure he doesn't re-injure himself. The prudent course of action is to err on the side of caution and make sure he gets healthy and back in shape. The Bills need to prepare as if he will not play in 2016 and consider anything he gives the team this season a bonus.

Lmao. That's outstanding!

It's not even that far of a drive from Pittsburgh to Buffalo.

I get all that. One of my major points was that those with unbridled optimism tend to throw the reasonable people in the middle in with those who have unbridled negativity (of which there are very few in number, if not posts).

Nothing new going on yet, but Jest OTAs start Tuesday. He speculates that it might prompt something to get done since all parties would like him there. If I were in Fitzy's shoes I'd want to miss the OTAs so everyone would get a good look at Geno as starter. Maybe that would be a good reminder to the FO of what that was like. Then maybe they'd loosen the ole purse strings.

Crap. Sorry.

I've seen this same kind of stupid bull**t post repeatedly. It's absolute garbage. Post something positive and it goes ignored by the Kool Aid Krew. Then post something negative and s**t like the above gets spewed by them. Every single time. It doesn't matter how positive you've been in other posts or how correct you've been in your negative ones, The Kool Aid Krew will be there to bash you. Believe it or not, there's some realists out here just trying to see things as they are. If we see something good, we say it's good. If we see something bad, we say it's bad. Then we change our views based on new information - and here's the tricky part - without contorting the facts into what we want to believe or fear. I look at it as Living In The Real World. You should try it sometime.

Yeah, me too.

Yeah. Except that it's not at all a fallacy. This is how he acted toward his team after Dallas gave him a contract with a domestic violence suspension keeping him out for part of the season. You want this guy on the team?: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/why-is-greg-hardy-unemployed--hint--it-s-not-for-domestic-violence-133920118.html

There is no way I could bring myself to root for Hardy. His talent is undeniable, but I still don't think he can be counted on in any way - not to stay out of trouble, not in the locker room and not on the field.

I saw it once. That was enough, thanks. Speaking of 2015, it's a great example of posters ripping those with a more realistic view of the team. Either you're a Pollyanna or ridiculed. Take a couple of my predictions for 2015: - My Bills season projection was that they'd make the playoffs, but lose in the WC round. I got ripped by some for saying that they wouldn't win a playoff game and for saying that they weren't good enough to compete for a title. My projection was actually better than what they achieved, but I was considered to be negative. - I thought the Rex hire was excellent and that he'd have the defense playing great. I expected a top defense by the end of the season, giving some early leeway for players learning a new system. I way overestimated him and his ability to tailor his defense to the talent. So now think I was wrong based on his performance and that of the defense. But I guess I'm not supposed to take what I see into consideration. If I don't see how super-awesome Rex is, I shouldn't post on here. Or I should just wait until he's on his way out and then we can all bash him together! Sorry, rose colored glasses shouldn't be required to post here and some people should really take theirs off before ripping people who are correct a whole lot more than they are.

Schwartz is in Philly. He's just bringing in guys he is familiar with and who know and fit his scheme.

I remember Ryan SAYING that he was going to add in some of the previously used concepts, but I saw no proof that it ever happened beyond lip service.

I wasn't arguing the point, just trying to clarify that the writer didn't say that last season was an anomaly for Rex. Ryan showed me who he was last season when he was unable or unwilling to work with the defensive talent in place. The best coaches mold their systems to their players. He can't/won't. So we wound up a lot of players who didn't fit the scheme, many of whom were way overpaid for what they were asked to do. Some of them are gone, but not all of them. Now we just used virtually a whole draft to help get players who fit Rex's scheme and, as a result, totally neglected adding some desperately needed offensive help. Last season, when I realized what was going on, I predicted that Rex would last just long enough here to dismantle the impressive, attacking defense that was in place. That we'd wind up with some expensive leftovers from that defense mixed with his more passive and complicated style of players. In short, that the defense will be a mess for the next coaching staff. I hope I'm wrong, but I still think this is where it's heading.

He just said that Ryan needs to prove that last year was an anomaly, not that it actually was one. The not so subtle inference is that Ryan's seat is getting hot.

Also a fair point. Maybe they tried to let them heal on their own and one wouldn't heal properly? That's all I can think of.

The first sentence is a lot more concerning than the recent surgery. Played through stress fractures - PLURAL - last season!? Among my concerns: - that Watkins had more than one stress fracture in his feet last season (that seems very bad, exactly how many?) - that he was allowed to play on those fractures after the Bills were eliminated from the playoffs (why?) - that him continuing to play on the fractures may have led to needing this surgery (bad situation gets made worse)

That's fair. I think it's a little bit of wishful thinking on my part. I try to be a realist, but sometimes a little optimist comes shining through.

This is disappointing to say the least. I loved the Shaq pick at 19. I wanted Doctson, but I did not expect that Lawson would make it to 19. I was pretty locked into Doctson, but I'd have had a tough time making the call between the two if I thought both were healthy. I guess the most likely scenario is that the doctors found the shoulder issue and thought that correcting it could wait until after the season. It seems that the medical problem was know by the league and viewed that way by most. It is probably why he fell. If I had known about it I would have passed on him for a player like Doctson too. It looks like the Bills took a chance on it and it is going to cost them in the short term. Here's hoping he still does well long term and the short term pain is worth the long term gain. I still love him as a player.

Throw in a pretty desperate contract to Percy Harvin last season and you get a clear picture of what's going on with this organization. They've been trying to get a viable deep threat opposite Watkins. Rewatch the KC game to see what it could mean to his success. His first half was unreal. Just incredible. But he got shut out in the second half. The difference was coverage. The safety was consistiently late to help in the first half. Sammy's speed was a big part of why. Taylor also put the ball in good spots for him on many of the throws. But the typical coverage in the second half was the CB playing press and the safety over the top of Sammy. Safety help was right there. Defenses can't be allowed to do that to him. A deep threat is desperately needed across from him. I get what the Bills did in the offseason. They kept Glenn, Incognito and Gilmore. That's reasonable and it's what I wanted. They had a choice in the draft - 1) go all out to fix the offense, 2) go all out to fix the defense or 3) split the help. They chose #2. I'd have chosen #1, but their choice is one I understand - especially with the defensive line depth in this draft. My main reason for wanting to go offense is that I want to know what I have in Taylor this season. I didn't want to risk him failing because of his supporting cast.

Something like that he sucks? He's a QB that has been poor overall but has showed occasional flashes that make you think he could be something much more. Those occasional flashes have stayed just that - occasional. He also brings some serious character issues with him. It'll be interesting to see if he makes it through waivers.

Lol

At least the Bills tried with Harvin last season. I hated the choice of him, but it was at least an attempt to address the receiving corps. Watkins, Harvin, Woods and Clay with Shady in the backfield and Hogan as a 4th WR sounds a lot better than Watkins, Woods, Lewis/Hankerson?, Clay and Shady with Lewis/Hankerson as the 4th. Plus there's the whole "guys get hurt" thing. I can't reasonably see where the offense got better from last year to this. It's the same group except for a worse WR corps. They've had a year's experience in the system, but they've got less offensive talent now than at this point last season. 3 deep at every position? Please. The 3rd WR is usually considered a starter (and certainly sees more playing time than a FB these days). The Bills are deficient there. Their OL will start 3 quality players plus two guys that shouldn't be in a starting lineup going into training camp. The Bills had injuries last season, but Glenn, Incognito and Wood stayed healthy. What happens if one of them goes down this season? How's that OL going to look then? An OL with five starting level players can weather some injuries. An OL with three quality players can't afford to lose even one of them. This isn't about unrealistic depth, it's about fielding starting level players. A weak receiving corps and weak right side of the OL is particularly concerning at a time when the Bills are trying to find out what they have in Taylor. I have my reservations about him, but I don't like sending him out at such a disadvantage. It isn't going to help his development or help him succeed. The first game is still months away so I haven't given up hope that the team can add some help. It sure needs to at WR/TE and OL.