Last Guy on the Bench

Doesn't matter. To be considered good, NFL DBs must never give up any plays whatsoever. (Where the 300 yards that even the best defenses usually give up are supposed to come from, I don't know.) But clearly, if I see a DB get beat in any way, then that DB is below average and should be replaced as soon as possible. It's not like the WRs and QBs they are facing are among the best athletes in the world or anything.

Seriously. Live, I thought he bobbled it. But in the replay you could see it was a mile behind him and headed straight for the DB. UnBILLievable catch. And so was that one where he totally reversed the angle of his body backward against the grain of the way he was running. And so was the one where he caught the mfer with his fingernails. That dude is supernatural. I am so happy.

I don't want to pile on, and like many people here, I really like EJ. BUT, it is getting painful to watch. What has convinced me that he may need to sit sooner than later (maybe even next week, I don't know) is that we have open wide receivers all the time. I think our WR core is capable of some greatness - or at least goodness. They are not getting the chance right now, and it has to be eating at them. As others have pointed out, their body language is not good. The defense is clearly playoff caliber - capable of keeping us in any game, even if they are not shutdown scary. The line isn't great, but a QB with a more decisive trigger would make them look a lot better. The WRs are loaded with talent. The RBs are good. Special teams is killing it. This team will win games with a competent QB. I don't know if we have one, but I'd be taking Mr. Orton out for a test drive to find out. He needs some first team practice reps this week at any rate.

Kenny Davis is a Mac Daddy. I would go apes%#t if Kenny led the team out. One of my all time favorite Bills.

That seems reasonable. I expect something similar and would be quite happy with a 4-2 start this year, especially if we keep seeing the signs of individual and team development that we've been seeing. I would not at all be surprised to see them lose to the Bolts this week. I think San Diego is the more mature team and Rivers will probably be able to do enough to thwart even a solid defensive effort. But man would I love to be wrong. In any case, this is a fun team to watch so far - that's really all I ask for (and often don't get).

Yep. I almost voted for Fuller, but then my nepotistic, Bills-infatuated self got the better of me, and I popped the chad for Sammy. Not that he is undeserving. Loved Fuller before the draft. I think he is going to be a special player.

Thank you. I'm not even sure that he had lost control when it hit the pylon. But either way it does look like it broke the plane before that. There is certainly not clear evidence to suggest otherwise and overturn the call on the field.

Don't forget several times when the play by play guy said a Miami player's name when describing a play that a Bill's player had just made. I remember that happening on at least one Bills run (I'm pretty sure I know the name of all of our running backs) and on one Bills pass defense play (I'm also pretty sure I know the name of all of our DBs - in fact, I'm pretty sure I know the name of everyone on the roster except the punter whose name hasn't found a neural resting spot in my brain yet - love him nonetheless).

I am no football technologist, but to my half-informed eye it seems like EJ is definitely throwing more to space - leading receivers better or throwing before their cuts - even when he doesn't end up connecting. If so, it shows increasing comfort with the offense and increasing sync with his WR corp. As a number of people have pointed out already, that missed TD opportunity to Watkins seemed less like an errant throw than like a moment when EJ and Sammy weren't on the same page. Whether Sammy ran the route too vertically or EJ failed to adjust the throw based on the DB's position, I'm still heartened that EJ is trusting his guys to get to the right spaces rather than waiting for them to look open to the naked eye.

I thought I was losing my eyesight. It seemed so obvious to me several times, but I kept thinking there is no way the refs could miss what I think I'm seeing - maybe I'm missing the snap of the ball. I don't know why I gave them the benefit of the doubt over my own eyes, given how many blown calls we routinely see. These were particularly weird, though, as I don't think we typically see a lot of blatant missed false start non-calls. Oh well. 2-0 and everything goes down a little easier.

Don't forget the rest of what he said. It's even better: “I want to play today,” Williams said, too excited to wait for the question to finish. “The chance to be in front of our fans, and now with all the – not extra incentive – but … emotion involved in the deal, I’m excited about it. I told our team, we need to prepare the way that we did all week last week, really focus on what we’re doing, because if we can win on first and second down, get them behind the eight-ball, our fans will win the game for us. They might blow the roof off this place – or the upper deck.” http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bills-nfl/sale-to-pegulas-has-bills-players-seriously-pumped-20140910?

Dude is money. I can envision watching with only mild nausea (rather than a full blow panic attack) as he lines up to kick the game winning field goal in a playoff clincher/playoff game/super bowl. A fella can dream . . .

Exactly.

I have to say, I'm amazed at the reaction in this thread. What is so threatening about an NFL team in another country? That's a real question; I'm not trying to bash anyone. To me, it seems like it would be fun. Different cultures getting involved. New traditions emerging. New rivalries. International tournaments in other sports are often tremendous. I understand the logistical and financial concerns. Can this really work in terms of travel? Will people in other countries be sufficiently interested? Will players want to live part time in another country (though I can imagine a whole lot of players being more interested in living in London than in one of the smaller American cities). Fair questions, but they are empirical, not moral. Either things could be worked out or they couldn't. I just don't get where the moral outrage is coming from.

Ticos! CONCACAF! Love it!

Ditto. Would I change some things about soccer, e.g., the diving? Sure. But I could say that about any sport. Soccer is a fantastic game and there is no sporting event in the world that is even close to as thrilling as the World Cup. I have watched every match so far, and though I doubt I can keep that streak going realistically, I intend to come as close as I can.

Good game to kick everything off. God, I love the World Cup. Agree that the penalty call was shite. But the Oscar goal made the result feel a little fairer. Plus Oscar was a maniac the whole game. He worked his tail off and deserved that beautiful goal. Fasten your seat belts. It is going to be a great month.

Yes, that was really heartening. More generally, I like the way Schwartz comes off in his press conferences. He's smart and will actually give fairly specific answers. For example, when asked if there is an area of the defense that they are most excited about, most coaches will just say "all of them." Schwartz actually said the secondary. He is growing on me.

I'm in Cape Town, Van. Been here three years, but sadly, except for a quick business trip, I haven't spent any time in Joburg, so no inside info for you, unfortunately. But it's a really interesting country. Enjoy your trip!

And that video doesn't even show one of his best plays - the forced fumble and recovery against the Jags. It's the first video clip in the right hand column here: http://www.nfl.com/player/nickellrobey/2540197/profile

The difference is you would still see e.g., Glenn and Spikes taking snaps with the first team, and you would definitely not see them taking snaps with the 4th team. Again, I don't think this is a huge deal or a definitive statement by the coaches in anyway. But I don't think it is completely meaningless either. It does say something about how they currently view Robey. Practice rotations are no the endgame, but they do have meaning. And this particular move surprises me. That's all.

I think there is a difference between alternating guys in a level above their current spot (e.g., giving second stringers some snaps with the first unit, while still giving the starters some snaps) and seeing Robey get less time on the field than two new guys and a guy that has played nowhere near as well as Robey did. I definitely agree that this is not a final snapshot of the September depth chart, but it does say something to me. I will not be one of the people freaking out in August if Preston Brown takes some snaps in place of Spikes or if Henderson gives Cordy Glenn a blow with the starters. These seems different to me. But I guess we'll see.

I hope you're right. I do think these OTA rotations say something, though. Maybe not that they have a firm pecking order, but at least that they have some doubts about Robey. At other positions, they are not putting the youngsters and newcomers in ahead of firmly established players to see how they look. I would have thought Robey was a little more established as the nickel slot (at least over Brooks and newbie Cockrell - though I can see giving Graham a long look since he has established himself in the league).

Habs are out, I'm out. (Plus it's a little tricky to follow hockey from South Africa.)

Good point. I may be giving too much weight to Robey's great plays and forgetting his weaker plays.