Drunken Pygmy Goat

oldmanfan, I appreciate your analysis, and generally agree with you. I bolded the portion about the offense for a couple of reasons. First of all, a lot of what you posted is relying on presumptions and assumtions; wishful thinking. You may be right in the end, but at this point, who knows. The assumption that McCarron will get the ball out faster may be by default, because Tyrod often extended plays with his legs before throwing, but both players have very similar career sack %s (AJ 8.9<<<much smaller sample size, TT 9.1). As AJ gains PT, perhaps he improves there... On the line, I don't think it's a given that Groy starts at C. I think the coaches may view his versatility along the line as being more valuable, and may choose to keep him as the swing. Bodine has several years experience as a starter (although not very good years...), and IIRC hasn't missed a game in his 4 years. That's very much up in the air. With Dawkins, there's a lot of promise there at LT, but he did have some rather poor performances sprinkled into his nice rookie season. And playing next to Richie probably helped him considerably. Ducasse moving to the left may have an effect there, especially earlier in the year (although he did have a very good finish to the year at RG). And of course there's the possibility of a sophomore slump. He'll be learning his 2nd scheme in 2 years, so there may be some early struggles from him this season. WR, I agree with you there, although Thompson did provide some speed and a but of a "spectacular" catch element to the team. They'll need someone to step up into that role. For me though, I don't attribute the pundits' poor record predictions on the talent so much as I do the change in scheme, new QB(s) and other positions, and (more importantly) what looks like a very tough first half schedule. That, too, is a presumption and subject to change, but based on that idea, coupled with what looks to be some early season growing pains, I understand their reasoning for the predictions, especially the slow start predictions. I don't think this team is "2010, 0-8 start" bad, but the predictions may not be all that far off. There may be a lot of close losses that contribute to a poor record, but not necessarily a "bad" team. The Bills likely aren't going to do a lot of dictating on offense, and will need to run well and utilize play-action, and execute and capitalize on the opportunities they have to be competitive offensively. Not to be a downer, it's just that there's a lot of uncertainty right now to say one way or another how they'll perform. I'm typically an optimistic guy, but realistically, there are reasons to be weary. I certainly hope you're right, though.

TBH, I'm not so sure we see Allen much, if at all this year. And I really don't have a preference one way or the other. I'll leave that for the coaches to determine. McCarron may not have a great year, but a poor record may not be a direct reflection or result of his play either, so benching him in favor of seeing what the rookie can do may not be reasonable in that situation. Of course, if the Bills are eliminated from the post-season earlier or are obviously "out of it", then I could see them giving him a shot. But even then, I'm still not sure that would be the best thing for him. My point about the arrow pointing up wasn't necessarily based on Allen alone, but based more on the team as a whole, specifically the defense. It would be good and great to see glimpses from him, but I'm honestly not sure what to expect from him, short term, and especially with a poor supporting cast.

I don't like it, and I don't totally agree with it, but the Bills could be in for a very rough start to the season. And that's my own formulated opinion, not based on what the pundits say. Unfortunately, the points that they make, and reasoning for such a poor season, are very realistic and not bold at all. I think they win at least 5 games, and probably overachieve a bit again this year, but I'd be genuinely surprised if they win 8 games. And I'm okay with a down year, as long as the arrow is clearly pointing up by the end of the year.

I was going to say something similar, just maybe not as disrespectfully. This is the NFL. If the owners don't have to be "loyal", why do the players? This is their careers; they don't owe the team, or the fans, anything. And TBH, the Bills haven't been a very good/well run franchise for a large portion of their existence. Ralph had a reputation of being cheap, and that idea wasn't specific to fan speculation only. When Jim Kelly said "What would you choose, Houston or Buffalo?", (I hate to say it) but he had a good point, for multiple reasons. and not only was the franchise's future altered due to his decision to play in the USFL (by being terrible enough to land Bruce), but his career could have taken a much different path as well. Everything happens for a reason, and you could argue that the "glory years" may have never happened, had Jim started his career in Buffalo. The glory years really was the result of a perfect storm of events that blended together, starting with Jim going to Houston, followed by drafting Bruce #1, hiring Polian, finding a diamond in Andre, etc. Now that doesn't mean that I disagree with the entire premise of this thread. Guys like Andersen, McGahee, Smerlas, etc. all deserve a place among the biggest "traitors" (maybe the wrong choice of word) in team history. But just being drafted by the Bills doesn't mean that they should swear their allegiance to the team and ride it out with them no matter what. "Loyalty" in professional football is loose at best, but if a team shows some loyalty to the player, then chances are that the player will show some loyalty in return, to some extent. But again, we're talking about the pre-Pegula Bills here, and (God rest his soul) Ralph wasn't exactly known for his widespread loyalty (WRT football; great man away from the game).

Nice read, thanks!

As a fellow idiot, I'll say that it was quite clear. And FTR, I interpreted the OP the same as others, that Allen is "there" as in "ready" ^ idiot

Where's the poll?

I somewhat agree with this. Having the tools is arguable. He had a lot of work to do on his mechanics IMO, especially with those short throws as you mentioned. Too often he would throw bullets on 5 yard passes. But his throwing motion in general was odd. He seemed to "shoot" his passes, almost like when playing darts. His success as a passer on first downs often came out of play-action, an area where he was pretty good IMO, so long as the play design and execution were a match to what the defense did, and typically on passes that were deeper over the middle of the field. Sideline passes were dreadful more often than not. One thing that is for sure is that his coaching was not very good, not just from a play calling POV, but also in the form of a staff that can properly develop a QB. He really wasn't put into a good position for success in several ways, even if he wasn't destined to become a good NFL QB anyways. The staff didn't do a good job of masking deficiencies at all really. He was considered very raw coming out, but with his measurables could be molded. Sitting and learning, and working on mechanics should have been the approach, but unfortunately a rubber mat thwarted that. But even still, he wasn't going to be very good, so it's kind of moot. His depression from being benched just goes to show that he didn't have what it takes at the position, as others have mentioned. It should have fueled him.

When has a "bad" Bills team beaten a "great" Packers team? IMO, a lot of the series record has to do with timing, and the talent level of those teams during their meetings. The Packers weren't very good during the Bills glory years of the late 80s and early 90s, and really weren't good for the 20 or so years between Starr and Favre. And the Bills generally had decent teams when facing good/decent Packers teams in OP, and when the Bills are decent, it can be a tough place to play. That '14 Packers team was good, but not great, and the Bills won 9 games that year. Rodgers was noticeably "off" that day (and not necessarily due simply to the Bills defense, which was superb that year, especially against the pass). Lacy was killing it that day, and the Bills got help with a PR TD. The Bills got spanked in their last visit to Lambeau 8 years ago. That was a bad Bills team, facing a great Packers team...

EJ Manuel appeared on a recent podcast with NFL analyst and former Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Ross Tucker and discussed his tenure in western New York at length. After his appearance, it’s hard to argue that Manuel didn’t care. He clearly wanted to make the Bills’ selection of him in the first-round in 2013 worthwhile, instead of just going down as another quarterback on the list of those in the team’s drought that couldn’t get it done. Now with the Oakland Raiders in a backup role, Manuel expressed to Tucker that he still believes he’s a starting-caliber quarterback in the NFL. [con't] Tucker: So wait a minute, you’re a first-round pick, and four games into your second year, only your second year, and they benched you? Manuel: Yeah, and we were 2-2. I know, man. It’s…. Tucker: What did they say? Manuel: Well, I remember the meeting I had with coach Marrone and he basically said he wanted me to learn from a veteran. And obviously that was never said to the media and people who say stuff and all that, but like I said, I live a life of gratitude. I can’t sit and worry about anything, it’s apart of my journey, you know? https://www.google.com/amp/s/billswire.usatoday.com/2018/07/17/26306-ej-manuel-depression-buffalo-bills-oakland-raiders/amp/

Honestly, it's hard to disagree with any of the points/suggestions made in this article, or other articles with similar points. I don't believe this team will be as bad as many are making them out to be, but it's certainly a "rebuilding/growing pains" type of year. They already showed that the pundits were VERY wrong last year, and the change in culture may lead to more overachieving over the years, but all things considered I would be surprised if they win 8 games. On paper, it looks more like a 5-7 win team to me, and I'm okay with that for this year, as long as we see glimpses of what's to come.

Hopefully this is good news WRT the upcoming collective bargaining agreement and the potential for a revised G-4 program.

Not a deep dig up, but solid bump!

This is one of those instances where the "cup half full" mentality is illogical.

The man who assassinated the president in 1901

I blame Leon Czolgosz

You were expecting something different???

Are people trying to excuse it away, though? I get the point youre trying to make in all your posts, but perhaps your interpretation of what you're reading is off??? I don't think anyone is just blowing it off, or going out of their way to find reasons to discredit this. Maybe some are, but the reasons being mentioned seem plausible. I don't know it to be true, one way or the other. But if they had been contacted, there's a very very good chance that we would all have heard about this sooner, and from a reputable source.

And her friend could have called the police...

Yeah...if she had called the police before posting on the internet, he would have been arrested or advised to turn himself in.

I don't think so. I also found that pick to be iffy, in several ways. I didn't have to "look for a reason", the reasons are evident. That being said, I'll wait to make any judgement, just like I did with the bar brawl.

That doesn't mean anything, relative to the validity of the claims. He's a famous figure. It's only a matter of time before it spreads. It didn't take long to get here on TSW

And that wasn't the first time he had been picked off on a HB screen either. It happened late in the prior season at Jax. I've only been to 3 games, that 2013 game in Jacksonville (W), last year at home against Denver (W), and 2012 at Miami (L). That game in Miami was really bad, so it gets my vote as the worst, but the officiating was far far worse, especially against Buffalo. No bias from me at all. We were surrounded by Fins fans and they all said the same thing. Every time the Bills made something happen (which wasn't often, but would have kept the game closer), NOPE, random flag! Chandler broke his leg that day.

I can't believe no one has mentioned Cornell Green. Or Spencer Johnson (at OLB).