DriveFor1Outta5

Not just QBs, expansion would hurt the overall quality of the game. Not enough good players at any position. I already feel like the game has suffered due to past expansion.

Hate to see it happen to anyone too, but if it's going to happen to someone at least it's San Diego. They don't live and breath their team the way we do. Plus they live in San Diego. Losing your team isn't that mentally damaging when you get to live in San Diego.

I agree we need to get players that fit Ryan's scheme. However, I'm not sure if I agree with you on Mario Williams. He doesn't fit Ryan's scheme, and quite frankly doesn't always show up to play. I've never seen a guy with such great career stats fail to show up for so many games. He occasionally has great games where he seems to compile all his stats. Then on other Sunday's he doesn't show up at all. Mario Williams epitomizes this years Bills better than any player as far as I'm concerned. Loads of talent but a lack of heart and killer instinct. He just doesn't play up to what his stats may indicate. I'm sure Texan fans are quite happy to have Watt. The guy never takes plays off, and shows up every week.

This ^ We need a GM that does a consistent job of finding the proper guys that fit into a system. Whaley is popular around here, despite the results being the same as previous GM's. I believe he has done a great job of stockpiling talent. That's why there are so many Whaley fans on this forum. However, simply acquiring talent doesn't create champions. We need guys that are smart, have heart, and are winners. We have too many guys on this roster that don't fit that mold imo.

True, but it's incredibly difficult to even hit the ball that often. Baseball players need to posses a special talent that few have. Size and speed are rarely important. In order to make it to the NFL you need not only special talent, but size and speed as well. A 5'8 150 pound player can make it in baseball. A 5'8 150 pound football doesn't have a prayer. Even if they possess tons of football ability. To be an NFL player there are certain natural gifts you must be blessed with at birth. Those guys will always become football players. If you are big, strong, and fast many times you can be successful in the NFL. The biggest, strongest, and fastest become stars ex. Gronkowski. It doesn't mean they could hit a baseball consistently in MLB because they want to make more money.

This ^ We definitely got the better end of the trade. That being said I'm in no mood to be happy about it. With the trade we won't be in the playoffs, without the trade we wouldn't be in the playoffs. I've been pleasantly surprised that he still has the ability to cut on a dime. At the same time he's the eleventh ranked back in the NFL, and the thirteenth by yards per carry. Not awful, but I doubt he's going to pro bowl either. I really hate making negative posts. The issue is this team has me at a point where I don't have a lot positive to say. A lot of us have gotten to the point where we treat the Bills like our childrens youth soccer team. Always finding something to praise, even when nothing positive exists. I don't see anything good from the trade because we're still irrelevant losers.

I think some of what you're saying has already happened. However, as long as football exists there will always be participants. We've already seen the shift to urban kids being more likely to play. I don't see that trend ending. If you're an urban mother that has possibly seen tragedy all around such as deaths and people going to prison, football doesn't seem very dangerous at all. It becomes a good option for your child to get out and succeed. The participation decline really hits the suburban kids. We live in an era were many suburban kids basically get their diapers changer by Mom until they're 40. Those are the parents that are going to have a problem with it. Especially when money isn't as big as factor as it may be with rural and urban kids. The dream to hit it big playing football might not be as alluring. Without getting too personal, the idea that football negativly affects your future family is something I would have never thought of. I would have seen it as an opportunity to help set up my family with good things for life. Things I will never be able to provide. You see a lot of NFL players that do big things for their Mother with their first paycheck. People with motives such as those will never shy away from pro football. I could be wrong though. I played pee wee football, so I may have CTE.

Whenever this conversation comes up I'm always the person that comes across as supporting football against an onslaught. That being said I'm not against the improvement of technology to increase player safety. I have no issue with the advancement of helmets and other gear. I just don't ever want to see the day when the game is drastically changed, or disappears. Some might argue that it already has been drastically changed. That being said occupational hazards go back as far as time. How many people died in factories before labor laws? How many chemicals caused lifelong damage to factory workers and construction workers? My point is that these things happen, and we try to improve safety when the truth is uncovered. The majority of the millions of people whose lives were cut short due to work conditions at their 9 to 5s never received the compensation pro athletes do. Sadly it seems that many people just want to blame the game, and bring about its demise. We didn't say education was a bad thing when we discovered our schools were filled with asbestos. I could be wrong and often am, but the 19 yr old guys I've known think they're immortal and health problems will happen to someone else. I can say if you told me at 19 I could be a football star, I would have said yes even if future consequences were laid out in front of me. It would have meant that I could get any woman I wanted, and frankly that's all that would have mattered to me.

No

Jim Kelly and Johnny Manziel comparisons make no sense. Kelly was a partier, and did live before social media. However, Kelly had the physical attributes and ability to be an NFL QB. Manziel simply doesn't. I've said it before and I'll say it again. The Browns and even the media would treat this completely different if Manziel looked good on the field. Trust me, that's what this league is really all about. It becomes a story with him because it's the only story. We certainly can't talk about the amazing things he's done when he has gotten the chance to play.

This happens to tons of people who didn't play football. I've seen it first hand far too often. It could happen to you or me. The causes and treatment of Dementia and Alzheimer's are still largely unknown.

I can't believe that a few people on this post have come up with elaborate excuses not to at least try a screen. Don't over think it like Roman. Even if blocking is poor, Sammy was special with the ball in his hands at Clemson. Give a shot. It's better than zero second half targets. Also the Pats* do play by the college rules and block down field.

Sometimes I feel like people just don't understand the fringe benefits of being a football star. Guys like Gifford had it made their entire life. High School, College, and the Pros. People worshipped them everyday of their life. What young man wouldn't want that? If I could have made a deal with the devil as a teenager to live to my 50s or 60s and have that life, I'm sure I would have taken it. Yes there are plenty of stories about the guys that go broke, but quite frankly that's their fault. For the ones who don't life is good. Even the guys that do go broke had a pretty exciting run. Better than many of us with our " little jobs".

They didn't play for anyone, that's my point. The dude lived to 84, and had an amazing life. Who wouldn't take that? Aside from being married to Kathie Lee.

He also lived to 84. Older than any of my family ever have.

I just wish the media would stop obsessing over this guy. We really don't need weekly Tebow updates. I almost said the attention isn't Tebow's fault, but somehow he does seem to bring attention upon himself. Dating a former Miss America, and Nick Jonas flame will bring media attention. Either he is truly a clueless Andy Griffith type, or he is secretly an attention seeker. You'd really think he could just step into a southern baptist church, and find a woman away from the media spotlight. He kind of annoys me at this point. Seems hypocritical when he always said he didn't want to be a distraction during his playing days.

We need more short passes to McCoy, Clay, and Sammy. Get the ball in their hands on plays aside from just the deep balls. Woods and Hogan are terrible with the ball in their hands, and they seem to be who we target on short passes. Sammy has track athlete speed, and we're busy throwing all the short routes to Hogan. This team drives me crazy. Sure the deep balls to Sammy were great today, but get him involved in other ways as well. In the post game presser Rex said they dropped the safeties back in the second half to slow Sammy. Why didn't we run some short routes with him then? That would solve the YAC issue, but then again Roman has already earned a spot in my dog house.

He also bobbles balls in key moments, and has a tendency of running 3rd down routes short of the sticks. Hogan also loves to give up yards after receptions attempting to out run defenders video game style. He fails to understand he doesn't have the speed to do this. Otherwise Hogan is great. That being said I don't think your idea is all that far fetched as Woods as been awful. However, as far as I'm concerned we don't have a number two on this team. I really don't see it making a difference one way or the other. We just need to find a number this offseason. I don't think you're idea is terrible, I'm just pointing out why Hogan gets ragged on. He deserves it.

That's why I can't stand Hogan.

That's why we're an average team. We never put it all together. It seems that at least one phase always has a meltdown each week.

It's not his fault at all, but it continues to disgust me that under the Hackett and Roman regimes he seems to get almost as many targets as Sammy. As far as I'm concerned that's the only bad with Hogan. I think Hogan could do really good things if we got the ball to our real playmakers more often. This would open up things for our number 2 and 3 receivers, instead of them being used more like number 1's.

None of it would be a story if he could actually play QB in the NFL. It's as simple as that. The fact that he lacks eveything needed to make it as a NFL QB means that he's on a short leash. If he were leading the team on a playoff run no one would care about any of the off field stuff, including the Browns franchise themselves. He's not of enough value as a player to make the antics worth it.

When you have a quarterback that can't read a defense you end up with lots of check downs to backs. You also see tons of short passes over the middle to tight ends and slot receivers. Finding the deep options requires anticipation, and the ability to see what the defense is doing. Tyrod does not have this. He has four tricks up his sleeve, and they're all he has: Scramble and hope to find someone get wide open, scrambling to pick up yards, short passes, and deep passes to receivers running go routes. Go routes are the only deep passes he is capable of. It requires simply throwing the ball up to said receiver. Any down field throws that require reading the defense are out with Tyrod as QB. We will never see Sammy become a down field threat with Tyrod at QB. That being said Roman has simply been terrible as well. We need to find ways to get the ball in Sammy's hands that work for our QB. We need screens and short patterns, in addition to the Go routes. Roman should also try moving Sammy around more. Try things such as playing him in the slot more often. We still find ways to get the ball to Hogan, but why can't we get it to Sammy? I'm not bashing Hogan at all, but your biggest playmakers need the ball in their hands. I thought Hackett was the only OC capable of such incompetency, but maybe I was wrong.

The deep ball is all he has because he can't read a defense. That's a skill that players rarely acquire if it's something they don't have to begin with.

With the way he played tonight Taylor being out doesn't concern me much. He's inaccurate, can't read a defense, lacks confidence and has slow eyes. The only reason so many people on this board thinks he's the next Montana is that he doesn't make big mistakes aka turnovers like so many other Bills QB's since Kelly. However that doesn't mean we can actually get anywhere with him leading this team.