BarleyNY

A lot of people had unrealisticly high expectations for this season. You certainly were one of them. Use it as a learning experience. When the Bills (or any other team you root for) make a move think about how you'd feel if the Jets or Chiefs or Cardinals had been in the Bills' situation and had done that same thing. Ditto when you predict how a Bills team will perform in any given season. Imagine that they are any team you have neutral thoughts about and what you'd think of them. Just don't use a team that you have an emotional or legitimate bias for or against like the Pats or Browns. It really puts some moves into perspective. Signing Harvin mot not look so good if you're just looking at the best case scenario because he's a Bill and you need another good wide receiver. If he had become a Jet would you have been laughing at the impending implosion? If so, probably not a great move. You won't always be right, but you'll be right a lot more often. Personally, I'm a little disappointed in the Bills this season. I expected them to sneak into the playoffs but not go anywhere. I was looking for a step in the right direction. I honestly don't think I got it though. The Bills made a lot of offseason moves, spent a lot of cap space and they got a presumably better coach (as well as owner), but they don't look much better overall. Still, it was Ryan's first year. Maybe improvements will come as the team gets used to their new schemes. The learning curve often gets overlooked when a new staff comes in. But moving forward I do worry about finding a franchise QB, the OL (the two best are Glenn and Incognito who are FAs), adding a quality WR across from Sammy and the cap situation. I really hope that next year's roster looks better than this year's, but I'm not sure that it will. But I'll reserve judgment until I see what transpires.

You must have missed the thread talking about how the Chiefs defended Watkins in the 2nd half of Sunday's game. They aggressively bumped him off the line and kept a safety deep over him. You don't throw WR screens with a CB playing on the line. In college he had a lot of very soft coverage, which is perfect for that play. In the first half he clearly didn't need that play to be effective .

Absolutely true. But why do people keep bringing up the Browns around here? There are more threads about them and their players than other AFC East teams. Is ragging on them just what we do around here to make ourselves feel better about our own mediocrity?

Agreed. Also if Watkins wants to be an elite WR then he's going to have to beat double coverages sometimes.

I was wondering what exactly happened. Figured Watkins was getting more attention in coverage. The Bills desperately need another quality WR - another real threat - lining up across from Watkins. It's got to be a draft/offseason priority.

Truth

Well done

Then he's an idiot. Honestly, if Rex relies on his players over an assistant in a booth to decide what plays to review then he's fallen massively in my estimation. I understand going with a player who said he got his hands under a ball, etc., but players on the field rarely have close to as good of a view as someone watching in a booth who's looking at the same freaking video replay the refs will look at. The Bills were two proper replay challenges away from winning this one.

It really is brilliant the way the NFL has the season and playoffs set up. They give hope to the fans of so many mediocre and sub-mediocre teams because so many teams are in the playoff hunt for so long. (Is any team mathematically eliminated yet?) Sure a couple of them will get in to the playoffs and get stomped by an above average or elite team, but they don't have a real chance at the big game. And occasionally an elite team will have injury or other problems, wind up as a low seed and win it all after getting healthy but that's not the same as a mediocre team having a chance. The NFL inevitably winds up with a couple elite teams showcased in the Super Bowl. Then free agency and the draft gives hope to fans of crappy and mediocre teams. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Teams do develop and there is SOME change within the elite ranks, but not as much or as often as a league with parity should see - and there are legitimate reasons for that. But when you take a step back you see there's really just a handful of elite teams that rarely change surrounded by a lot of noise.

F that.

Define "high pick".

There has been a lot of talk over the past several years coming from RG3's teammates that he's been more concerned with his celebrity status and off the field life than he has been with improving as a player and taking a leadership role. His regression as a player bears that out. Thus my caveat about him finding some humility and willingness to earn his place before even considering him.

That's not something that would be likely, but it would depend on RG3. Would he be willing to earn his place here or would he expect to come in already set as the starter? His game is similar to Taylor's and neither would be likely to last through a season healthy. Having both fight it out to be starter couldn't hurt and having two similar QBs on the roster would be great. But I don't see RG3 having that humility or reacting well if he was the backup. He hasn't dedicated himself to his craft in Washington - even after losing the stating job there - and I'd need convinced that he was ready to do that here. So, in short, I wouldn't be interested unless he was a changed man - and that's unlikely.

Thanks for posting. It's always nice to hear from someone with experience and insight.

These two sum it up nicely.

I don't think the Patriots are intentionally injuring linemen. Honestly, do you think it'd have been Jon Miller they went after if they were? I have had a theory of my own for a few seasons though - and it might explain this. It's that some teams have have very high HGH (or possibly other PED) use, probably due to it being institutionalized at some level - coach, GM, owner. I first noticed something was going on with the Steelers. For several seasons I noticed a common theme in how their offensive lines were portrayed in the media. There was a lot of talk about how they "grew", "came together" or "were developed by the coaches" over the course of each season. There was really only one problem with that - they were largely the same players. How would development not carry over from season to season? Why would an OL improve over the course of one season, but then fall back to below average at the beginning of the next? Then repeat? HGH use would sure explain it. It - and other PEDs - are not just used to bulk up or gain strength, they're used to speed recovery. A slightly below average player might get handled easily by an above average player early in the season, but toward the end of the season if that above average player is worn down and the below average one has recovered due to HGH use it might be a much different story. But that is thin by itself. What else did I see or hear besides overachieving linemen? History for starters. In the 70s the Steelers pioneered steroid use - before it was illegal - and rode that in part to 4 Super Bowls. That was a long time ago, however. Anything more recent? The team doctor up until several years ago was nicknamed "The HGH Doctor" due to his public advocacy of its use and the use of other PEDs. Jason Worlids unexpectedly retired as he reached free agency. He rose from obscurity to become an excellent pass rusher and after his rookie deal and a one year franchise tag simply retired. The rumors? Positive HGH tests were going to result in suspension and drastically increased frequency for long term testing. Or he could quietly retire. I could continue on the Steelers, but I'll move on and touch on some other teams. Seattle was rumored to have a slew of positive HGH tests coming into their Super Bowl winning season. Richard Seymour got off on a technicality. That defensive line looked an awful lot like the Steelers offensive line too. And they got better over the course of the season. Add in a coach in Pete Carol who is clearly comfortable cheating - and had to leave college (USC) for that - and I'm very suspicious. San Francisco is another. Patrick Willis is rumored to have retired for the same reasons as Worlids. And that brings me to another event - increased HGH testing. The NFL ramped up testing somewhat, but they wouldn't have wanted a PR mess. The answer was to slap a lot of wrists and allow some of the worst offending players to retire quietly. Those retirements were oddly staggered as well. So what about the Pats? Belichick is absolutely a coach who would do something like this. The OL and DL profiles fit. They certainly get a lot out of guys you wouldn't expect them to get a lot out of and they certainly shine brighter by the end the season - although they often look pretty good early on too. Incidentally I use the lines as a litmus test because it's the easiest for me to notice. What I haven't seen are suspensions or apparent retirements due to positive tests. Would it surprised me? Not at all. Are they encouraging HGH (or other PED) use? I'm not sure, but probably. There's not quite as much evidence as with some other teams though - teams they often meet in the playoffs I'd add. I don't know where the HGH mess is headed or exactly what recent turns it took due to the increased testing, but it's just one more thing about the NFL that is wearing on me. (Wow, sorry for the book. Didn't intend for this to be so long.)

I agree. I can't blame a coach for sticking with his starting QB in that situation.

Not this season. Miami is only on the hook for the prorated portion of his $1.5M salary for this season. The huge risk concerns his $7.75M option for next season which is guaranteed for injury. If he's injured this season and can't pass a physical by the first day of next season then Miami is on the hook for that. This was an incredibly stupid move by them.

No, he's not. He fits in perfectly with those two. All three are a joke.

That sums it up nicely. At some point you have to move on from situations like this. And "you" in this case means the Browns.

I just saw it on ESPN too. Yes, he'd have been tackled. And the ball wasn't quite to the receiver when the whistle blew. The rules state that the down is replayed. If I was a Pats fan and that play had been called correctly I'd have been pissed though. Especially considering where Rex was standing. I thought he was between the ref and Brady, but he was between the ref and receiver.

I honestly remember thinking that the Bills caught a break on that play. Does anyone have a video of it that they can post?

I agree on all counts. Expect other teams to try to keep him in the pocket when they know he has to throw. Taylor is going to have to improve that aspect of his game.

Actually it's only $1M in dead money, which would be applied next season if he's cut anytime before next season or if the Bills decline to pay his roster bonus in the offseason. If that bonus is due before he can earn his offseason w/o bonus of $50k then I expect that's the route they'll go. If not, then I expect him to be cut before he can earn it. The overall cap savings for him being let go over the offseason would be $3.9M. I expect that the Bill will need that cap space more than him. I don't see them cutting him this season, but he makes a little less than $200k a game. They'd save that in addition. http://overthecap.com/player/leodis-mckelvin/1736/

Rex was on the white line literally between the ref and Brady who had the ball. My wife's comment was "He's pulling a Tomlin!" I love her.