BarleyNY

If the most important thing you're looking for in a WR is blocking, then I have no idea what to say to you except that you should stop talking football. That insane. Incidentally, Greg Little is the best blocking WR on the team now. He can't catch for crap, but he's a hell of a blocker. If blocking is all that matters, then he's your starter. The Bills predominantly run the ball, but they also rely on beating defenses deep throughout the game. If the run game pulls up defenders, then the receivers beat them over the top. If the defenders play back to prevent the deep ball, the. the run game thrives. Without viable deep threats nothing works though. Again, I like Woods. I just don't think he is the guy the Bills need opposite Watkins. He'd fit in better with other offenses - ones that emphasize short and intermediate routes - and that's where he belongs. He should wind up in one after next season.

Is she a good coach? Cause we could use one of those......

I used to live in Strongsville, OH where a bunch of players, coaches and FO people live. And, yes, I knew a few of the above. Stories come out and you hear what's what sometimes. Those stories are not always 100% accurate, but they're usually pretty close. The deal with Gordon is this: Goodell feels like he and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, lied to him. Goodell does not put up with being lied to and consequently he came down hard on Gordon. (Admittedly ironic for a guy who lies as much as Goodell does.) Gordon meanwhile is into Rosenhaus for a not insubstantial amount of money. The expectation was that he'd have had a new deal and the loan would have been paid back by now. But he's still got two years left before he's an UDFA due to the suspensions. He needs a new deal big time. A big part of his past problems have been the people he hung/hangs with, including a close relative. Josh would actually drive the guy (and friends) around while he/they smoked pot (the relative, not Josh). That likely led to a past positive marijuana test. I have no idea where that relationship stands now, but I hope Josh got his priorities straight. He's up against it financially so I hope he woke up.

Watkins can play the X (wide, on the line) but I prefer him to be a Z (wide, off the line). Sorry, I mixed up Y (slot) & Z in my post. I don't like him on the line like an X where he would take more punishment due to his injury/durability issues. Also I prefer to see him to run a varied route tree rather than be predominantly deep threat. Woods can be a solid WR, but he's not the deep threat opposite Watkins that the Bills need. Watkins has been very effective except when double teamed (CB bumping, safety almost directly over the top keying on him) and that's where Woods is an issue. He can't pull coverage away. The Bills desperately need a player that can get deep and stress defenses by making them worry about two deep threats. Otherwise Watkins can be neutralized. See the KC game. First half - late safety help; second half - safety over the top keyed on him. 176 yards, 0 yards. The Bills went after Harvin to be that deep threat in the short term despite his lack of size and past issues. It showed how desperate they were to fill that void. If I could add one (non-elite QB) player to the Bills roster it'd be a quality X with size and speed. As for Woods, he is not a bad player. I just don't see him as a fit for what the Bills need. After 2016 he's likely to find another team where he brings more value than he does to the Bills, though.

Well, if only a few people in the world could do the job as well as Stupid, then I bet someone would take the chance on him. Josh Gordon led the league in receiving yards the last time he played almost a whole season. How many WRs can step on the field and be in that class today? Oh and he had crap at QB when he did it.

No way. He's their best playmaker on offense. They'd get nothing in return right now anyway so they're going to have to ride it out with him. Actually the most recent suspension was because drinking alcohol was a violation of the deal he made with the NFL. It was through the end of the season and after the Browns season concluded he took a trip with teammates to Vegas. Somebody took and posted a pic with him holding a drink on the airplane and he was tested as soon as he got off. His contention was that the season was over and he had fulfilled the agreement, but the deal actually ran through the end of the league year which was in March. Obviously it was his responsibility to know and follow the specifics of his agreement - and he previously tested positive for marijuana - but he's not been out of control or doing anything crazy. Stupid, yes. And that's a concern, but he doesn't have a substance abuse issue.

I see Woods as a quality utility WR. Much like a utility infielder who can play all of the infield spots in relief or in event of injury, Woods can play on the outside or inside (although probably not the X all that well). He's a hard worker, knows his assignments and can push young players. I like having him on the team. But I really don't want him relied upon to be a starting or top slot WR. The Bills need a big, fast X so Sammy can play the Z and then they need to add a quality Y. If Woods was the #4 in that scenario, then I'd be ecstatic. The problem will come on his next deal. He'll likely want to be paid more than the going rate for a 4th WR, especially considering his draft position (which does factor in), so I do not see him here long term. But the good news there is that when your WR corps start pushing players like Woods off the team, then they're pretty damn good. Of course they're a couple players short of that right now so you never know. Edited because I accidentally mixed up the Y and Z.

The Titians screwed the pooch on this one. They could've had Schwartz, but now it looks like they'll even be out on Horton too. He's heading to Cleveland.

It'll be interesting because his defenses did have some success. They obviously weren't on par with Schwartz's defenses though. I think that was what happened, too. It certainly fits and makes sense.

Apparently TEN didn't want Schwartz so he picked his preferred job. I find that totally inexplicable - or rather I would find it inexplicable had they not already demonstrated their coach-selection abilities by hiring Mularkey. TEN might have the #1 overall pick again in 2017. Horton is officially interviewing in Cleveland and is either heading there or back to TEN as DC. I'm not sure how he's in such high demand though. The Schwartz interest, sure. But Horton?

Some good calls so far on this topic. I'll add a not great QB, but one who was plenty tough. Byron Leftwich. Anyone who finishes a game like he did at Marshal with a broken leg has my respect. I still remember his teammates carrying him downfield between plays because he couldn't walk.

F that. I honestly thought that this was going to be a post about how the Bills should embrace cheating in order to win.

Couldn't agree more. Total dirtbag. Ditto Lane Kiffin. I'll add: Nick Saban, Rich Rodriquez, John Cooper, Butch Davis and Todd Graham. Joe Paterno has a special place on that list too. Oh yeah, I can't stand Tomlin either but I don't put him with that group.

Apparently he prefers Tennessee, but the Titians want Horton to stay. That's the holdup. Horton wants to go to Cleveland (or at least he did), but is still under contract in TEN and they're working on a new deal to get him to stay. The Titians will get Horton or Schwartz. Cleveland will get Horton if Tennessee gets Schwartz or CLE MIGHT get Schwartz if TEN keeps Horton.

Maybe he's in the running for a HC job and isn't accepting a DC offer until that job is filled? That would make sense. I don't know anything about him personally.

From what I've been hearing Schwartz has been getting a lot of interest as a DC and is mulling over several offers. Or did you mean as a HC? Once the first domino falls a bunch of things should start falling into place quickly, including Schwartz, Ray Horton, Mularkey, and others. I suspect that the Titians HC position might be that first domino, but I'm not sure. That hasn't been made clear.

The Bills had the most penalties and the most penalty yards in the league in 2015. How is calling them undisciplined unfair?

Exactly. Well said.

NE. They're limping into the playoffs, can't protect Brady and have to deal with a very good KC team that's playing lights out and cruising right now. Honestly, the only advantage NE has is at QB.

The incredible premiums paid by ESPN aren't sustainable though. The model was put into practice how you stated, but it isn't working. Disney's (ESPN's parent company) stock plummeted from 120 to 95 last year due primarily to those kinds of deals by ESPN. It's also why there have been so many cost cutting moves made by ESPN of late. They spent crazy to corner the market on a lot of sports, but didn't realize that the non-sports watchers would cut the cable and stop subsidizing the sports enthusiasts. It is a huge issue with ESPN right now and there isn't a clear way out. They've locked themselves in with the cable/dish companies and really can't go a la carte.

I didn't even address the politics or offers and counter-offers of the situation. There's no way St. Louis (or San Diego) can compete with stadium revenue in LA. None. The money in LA to buy luxury suites, local advertising/sponsorship, etc. is worlds apart. That argument concerns why those owners want to move to LA, not why the NFL wants teams there. I was primarily addressing the latter as the former seemed pretty obvious. And I thought I covered that with my teams-belong-to-their-owners-not-their-host-cities bit. It sucks (and as a native Clevelander I know it all too well), but it's reality.

Advertising dollars during football games and programs really are the basis for the network contracts. That's what pays for virtually all of the contract. Feel free to tell me what else is paying for it and how that works if you honestly think it's something else. As for waiting 20 years, how about this? 20 years ago the NFL was vastly different in many ways, including revenue sources. TV revenue didn't factor into the equation nearly as much and has only exploded in recent years. Thus we have the push for the lucrative LA market now, when finances are driving it.

You don't think their eyes are on that next contract with this move? I sure do. It can be argued that this won't have much of an impact on viewership - and I allowed for that - but I expect that it will. it might not be immediate, but I bet you'll see it before that next TV contract gets negotiated. Die hard fans will still root for their old team, but they'll probably root for an LA team (that's on local TV) too. Casual fans will put eyes on the new games as well - especially if one of those teams is winning. It sure doesn't hurt to hedge on that winning thing with two teams either. Done expect Bills-level loyalty either. How many more Clippers fans appeared when they got better than the Lakers?

Some networks pay a premium beyond what advertising brings in in order to pimp their other shows and gain the prestige that comes with carrying NFL games. It's often a loss on the NFL games, but is made up elsewhere due to viewership of other shows, etc. The contract is still based on advertising revenue though.

Apparently Jackson from Cleveland has also asked Schwartz to be the DC for the Browns. The man has a lot of options from what I hear. I bet he gets paid very large.