Last Guy on the Bench

Yep, he missed some throws. Every QB misses some throws, virtually every week. Picking out a few plays to make your argument is cheap. No one on the other side is arguing that a few select highlight plays made him a pro-bowler. He certainly wasn't great. But you have to look at his game as a whole. Picking out the plays you are picking out is lazy thinking, which yes you are entitled to, but seriously . . .

You have a very strange definition of 'terrible.' He was certainly spotty - missed some throws, had the two turnovers - but he ended up with almost 300 yards and close to a 70% completion rate, which did not all occur in the final two minutes. Plus he kept his cool. Kept the team in the game mentally. He is a work in progress, to be sure, but 'terrible'? Give me a break.

Well, on offense we did. New England is way down at the bottom. Manuel was clean all day.

Don't the servers just load one page at a time in either case? (There's admittedly a good chance I have no idea what I'm talking about.)

When Manuel struggles during the season (which he will), you keep playing him and let him work through it. Even if we had a savvy vet, I wouldn't put him in just because Manuel hits a slump - barring injury or complete and sustained collapse over multiple games where it is clear Manuel is losing it mentally, of course. But I don't expect that to happen. If the kid is your starter, play him. Ride the ups and downs. And evaluate his and the team's progress at the end of the year.

Just saw that. He was pretty good in Senior Bowl practices. Could be worth a look. Edit: Whoops. Wrong Trufant.

3 UDFAs still alive: Tuel, Robey, Cross

Was Jamal Westerman on anyone's final roster prediction? Because if they trade B. Scott, looks like he is sticking as a backup LB.

DIdn't Tuel throw 2 - one to Rodgers and one to Kaufman? Maybe I'm remembering wrong.

They already sell the ticket online to international customers via Game Pass. You can buy a 1 team subscription. Or you can get the full deal plus archives of all games of the last few years, including condensed versions and eye in the sky coaches' versions. When you watch live, you can even select the TV audio, or either team's radio broadcast audio (used to have trouble syncing, but they are starting to improve that). Costs $199 this year for the full deal including playoffs and year round NFL Network. I never have trouble with the streaming, and you can set the quality level on whatever you want, all the way up to HD, depending on your bandwidth. That is certainly the way they will ultimately go for the U.S. (at least as an option to complement broadcast TV). Whether that happens this next go around or sometime down the line remains to be seen.

Ho Hope you are right. Good point that they are all in their prime (or pre-prime with the younger ones). There is no one in that lineup who, if healthy, shouldn't have several good years left. I am so hoping this aggressive, swirling, body-punching defense we are seeing in preseason isn't a mirage. Even if the Bills aren't that great this year, I would be content if they were at least a little scary.

With Byrd back in the fold, the starting D now has 8 out of 11 guys selected in the first or second round. 5 first rounders (Mario, Dareus, Lawson, McKelvin, Gilmore 3 second rounders (Byrd, A. Williams, Kiko) 1 third (Carrington) 1 fourth (Bradham) 1 fifth (K. Williams) The first rounders are high ones too. Overall - Mario (1), Dareus (3), Gilmore (10), Leodis (11), Lawson (22). The lowest guy, the fifth rounder, might be the best defensive player on the team. I know some of those guys haven't lived up to their draft billing. And I know it doesn't really mean anything once the ball is snapped, but in terms of raw athletic talent it says something. Hope Pettine can put it all together.

Down the road, I could get behind the Pettine Zoo. But I agree it's too early. Right now, the nickname I favor is the "Don't SH#!T the Bed" defense. That would be a step in the right direction.

He definitely had the same old Fred rhythm and moves, but he looks quite a bit slower to me than I remember him.

Really interesting and encouraging article. I'm intrigued to see where this evolution of the NFL goes and glad the Bills seem likely to be one of the teams playing a leading role.

Awesome, as always, Astro. Love these. Thanks. Minor note: Kolb's 7 for 11 is 64% not 77%. Cheers.

Absolutely. In addition to Bill's always engaging take on things, one of the reason's his AFTATGINPO posts get so much traffic is that they consistently generate good discussion and debate. They rarely devolve into pissing contests (although of course there is always a little pissing going on in any internet message board thread). I really enjoy them, and often learn something.

Ah. That's a pain. Nothing is ever blocked here in SA, so that's good. Bandwidth is expensive, though. I used to just use the shady links, but between the lack of quality, the irritating ads, and the way they disappear in the middle of the game, I was more than happy to go legit, once I had the option.

Why is Game Pass a pain for you? I live in Cape Town and feel like I've died and gone to heaven with Game Pass. I watch all the Bills games live and watch tons of others either live or later in the week with the condensed version. Love it. It's the easiest $200 I spend all year. I would assume Bangkok would have better bandwidth etc. than Cape Town but maybe not? Anyway, hats off to you since you have to watch the games even later than I do.

I don't know. I don't think "Kolb is terrible" is the company line. That's certainly not what Marrone is saying. And the national guys coming through this week - whom the Bills have no control over - are pretty much saying the same thing as Murph.

Interesting story about the Eagles using the same technology. It explains the benefits more clearly than the video. http://mmqb.si.com/2013/07/24/chip-kellys-mystery-man/

I agree. As heartbreaking as that was, that was still one of the most enjoyable games I've been to. And it was insanely loud. My father couldn't hear right for six months after that game. Makes me wonder what people would list for their favorite games that the Bills lost. I know, I know - that's kind of an oxymoron, but for me some losses are definitely better than others in terms of how the team played, what kind of heart they showed, what kind of growth potential they hinted at. That Dallas MNF game would make my list for sure. The Leodis fumble game against the Pats in 2009 was very fun until that ending.

Ditto on all of the above. I see the same thing. I really enjoyed watching him in Hard Knocks. If he were the Bills' coach, I bet most people here would love him.

Terrific article. For once there is some real, sustained legwork behind it. It's not just from press conferences and press releases. It paints a very interesting picture of Marrone. I was fine with the hire, but not overly enthusiastic from what I've seen of him in press conferences, etc. (Not super critical, mind you, just not overly enthusiastic.) Well, after this article I am feeling MUCH more charged about Marrone as our head coach. He seems quite impressive in a number of ways. Definitely his own guy. Not just another robo-coach. You never know how things will turn out, but I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him do a great job here. I'd be rooting for anyone the Bills hired, since I have the incurable medical condition of being an unreasonable Bills fan. But I'll be pulling for this guy extra hard. Would love for him to turn out to be "the one."

Well said. If a white guy said/did everything that Geno has said/done, he'd be taking all sorts of crap, but I seriously doubt anyone would be calling him a "thug." It's not "PC" to point that out; it's logic. Doesn't mean the OP is racist, but his comment definitely comes off that way, and you don't have to be hyper-sensitive to think so.