SoTier

I'll be interested to see how Cleveland does against the Ravens, how the Rams do against Washington, and how the Jags do against the Titans. All three surprised me last week: the Browns with how well they played against Pitt and the Rams and Jags with how they beat the crap out of Indy and Houston respectively. I'm not sold on Tennessee being all that good like some of the pundits claim but they'll be a better test for the "Sacksonville" than Houston.

If the Bills had given Peters a fair contract in the first place or if they had just said, "mea culpa" and re-did his contract when he found out that they were trying to pay him like he was a backup RT, things wouldn't have gotten as ugly as they did ... and the Bills might have gotten much more production out of their entire offense over the last eight seasons. But that's the Bills' way: maximize profit by gutting the team of its best talent. Y'know, it's really amazing how successful teams always manage to figure out how to re-sign/extend their best players under the same cap that always forces the Bills to let their best young talent leave.

It's only "ridiculous" because you don't want to believe it. Who, exactly, hired Whaley? Let me give you a hint: the same person who hired Beane ... and Nix before him.

Well, that's the official line. Maybe he did but maybe his situation was made so untenable that he had to leave. People are forced out of jobs all the time through management actions that create hostile work environments. Ask any woman over thirty-five who works/worked in a male dominated profession how that goes.

The real issue is that the Rams haven't been in LA for 20+ years. They no longer have a following there. The LA situation wasn't like those in the other cities that got teams in the 20 years since the Rams left where much, if not most, of the impetus for bringing in an NFL franchise came from local people. Who was agitating for the NFL in LA? The NFL itself for TV ratings and real estate developers. If the Rams can turn themselves around on the field, they may eventually have a successful run in LA but I'm guessing that even the promised new stadium isn't going to save the LA Chargers. They'll leave eventually ... possibly back to San Diego.

I'm so over the "new owners" excuse. I don't quite agree with your observation only because there are some really crappy owners who've been around a lot longer, but I gave them a D for the Bills. I gave them an F for the Sabres because they've done nothing. The Pegulas are working toward the goal of being the worst, though. As long as they leave Russ Brandon in charge of the teams -- and don't doubt that he is -- neither the Bills nor the Sabres will be better than mediocre because the emphasis will always be at maximizing profits over winning football or hockey games.

Owens and Knox are both most likely to get in and probably most deserving from the perspective of their careers in the NFL.

He didn't look nearly as good as Kizer did for the Browns against the Stillers. The two rookie QBs taken before him are sitting behind Glennon and Smith, so we aren't like to see them much this season unless the starters go down.

And when will the Bills start winning? It's likely Dareus and most of the players currently on the roster will be long gone before that happens.

Three time Pro Bowl LT Andrew Whitworth is now helping Jared Goff look like a pro QB in Los Angeles and RG Kevin Zeitler is now protecting Deshon Kizer in Cleveland. That's what happened to Andy Dalton ... that's exactly the same thing that happened to Drew Bledsoe in Buffalo. A crappy OL can bring down any QB. ^^^ C'mon, Bill!!! That wasn't great defense ... it was simply terrible offense. Neither Houston nor Cinci has a decent OL, and it showed. It was reminiscent of the gem that the Bills and Browns played in October 2009 where the Bills lost 6-3 at home.

Let me guess. You're still fighting the Civil War, and in you're alternative universe, the South wins. Amirite?

They're not going to wait until the off season to dump him. Dareus is gone probably well before the trade deadline if they can find any team willing to give them whatever bargain basement price they set. The Bills are employing their typical negative propaganda about said player in the ever-cooperative local media to prep fans for his departure sooner rather than later. They've employed that tactic in the past, most notably with Jason Peters and Marshawn Lynch but also with players who were sent packing in FA.

Since he owned the Sabres when he bought the Bills, I think the NFL is okay with Pegula owning both of teams ... and I don't think that anybody except an NFL team owner can question the NFL by-laws pertaining to who can own teams ... in case you were thinking of suing. As somebody mentioned, the AHL Buffalo Bisons were replaced by the NHL Buffalo Sabres in 1970. Both were owned by the Knox family incidentally. In addition to the NBA Buffalo Braves, the Buffalo Bisons AAA baseball team left in the 1960s or 1970s IIRC. They were replaced with an AA franchise for a while but then the Rich family resurrected the Bisons on the AAA level in the 1980s.

I didn't find it funny at all, and I gave up on it before the episode was even over.

I can see the Bills doing this ... and their loyal, brainwashed fans applauding the genius of it: let a speedy young WR walk away in FA, trade away a fast, sure-handed young WR, and then turn around and trade for a speedy, older WR who makes more $$$. I'm sure that the Bills brain trust have concluded that Hilton will fit the Bills' "culture" even before he's on the team.

It's one game: the season opener at home against a division rival that not only appears to lack talent but didn't seem all that interested in winning games. I kept waiting for the Jests to fight back, but they seemed content to be pushed around. That says a lot about the Jests IMO, but to draw conclusions about how good the Bills are based on that game is silly.

No, it doesn't "feel different". It feels like exactly what it was: an opening day win over a hapless Jests squad that didn't even put up much of a fight given that it was a divisional game. We learned nothing about the quality of the Bills from that game because the Jests seemed disinterested in winning.

The Bills have started 3-0 numerous times before during the drought. They've gone on impressive 4 or 5 game winning streaks during that time, too, but the reality is that they haven't won 10 games or more in the same season since 1999, and they've only won 9 games twice. Start crowing when they win 10 games or make the playoffs, dude.

Believe whatever you want to believe but I watched much of the game, and totally agree that Marrone is a decent HC and will get more out of that team than you think. The Jags looked good, especially on defense where their pass rushers literally overwhelmed Savage on just about pass attempt, and on offense they made Bortles look respectable, which was probably quite a feat. Oh, yeah, they went into the Texans' house and dominated them ... and the Texans aren't the Jests.

Tannehill is nothing all that special as a QB, which is why Cutler can replace him and look decent. Miami's offense is well constructed and talented, and just about any decent QB would make it click. Contrary to myth here on TBD, a team doesn't necessarily need a "world class" talent at QB if it's got a good offense, a stout defense, and good coaching ... and as Indy demonstrates, a world class talent at QB is wasted if the rest of the pieces aren't in place.

After 17 years of mediocrity occasionally sprinkled with outright crappiness, I think those being optimistic about the Bills are suffering from Stockholm syndrome. Newbie transplants with no football IQ will have no interest in the Bills; they have better things to do on Sunday afternoons.

Keep telling yourself that. KC is a good team that went 12-4 last season. Even without Eric Berry, they're likely good enough to take the AFCW unless Trevor Siemion improves at QB in Denver and/or the Raiders D is significantly better than expected. Alex Smith is a competent QB who now has better targets to go along with the good protection he enjoys behind the Chiefs' excellent OL. It's entirely possible that the first the Bills get next season from the Chiefs isn't even as high as #27.

Why, exactly, do you "trust" McDermott and Beane? Because they spout a bunch of platitudes and make promises that you like hearing? Neither of them have track records as head guys: they've always been assistants, never the leaders. Whatever happened to earning trust? Moreover, in what way(s) did Watkins "not fit the culture they're trying to build"? That he dared to speak his mind? Dude, this is 2017 NOT 1967! As long as players perform on the field, whatever they think about issues like player salaries or standing for the national anthem is their own damned business. Furthermore, the Bills are notorious for filling player contracts, especially rookie contracts, with individual performance incentives rather than just giving them a flat salary, so a WR who doesn't get many targets is going to get paid a lot less than he might if he just got a flat salary. It encourages a "me first" attitude rather than a "team first" attitude, and the fault for that is all on the Bills not on the players.

Well, that "when" will be a long time coming. My guess is that the drought hits at least 20, maybe even 25. The only things that are different between the current regime and past ones are the names and faces. The Bills are working towards the exact same thing they've been working at for the last 17 years: maximizing profits by minimizing salaries without alienating the fans so much that they stop buying tickets. And easily one of the best NFL coaches of all times. Somehow, I think I'd trust his player evals over some neophyte HC. The Chief's OL is seriously better than the Bills' OL.. Shady would run wild behind it. ROTFLMAO! Dream on.

So, true, and it's truly funny. I'm sure that we'll be treated to gloating threads every time Gillislee, Gilmore or Hogan have a bad game or make a mistake. Gilmore was in single man coverage most of the night. He had one screw up ... the problem is that when a CB screws up, it usually ends up in 6 for the other team. Meanwhile, I think that all the gloating over Gilmore ignores the fact that the Pats offense was not impressive ... primarily because of the Chiefs' D. Those boys stopped NE on 4-and-less-than-1 twice. That first fourth down stop down in the red zone after Hunt's fumble changed the entire tenor of that game. Instead of being up 14-0, they were soon tied 7-7. It's like it deflated the entire offense; they played flat the rest of the game. Eric Berry's achilles injury aside, all those draftniks spinning their fantasies about KC sucking this season and the Bills getting a mid/high first rounder for them need to face the reality that it might not even be as high as #27. I agree. When the Pats lose 8 games this season, then I'll say they ain't making the playoffs. LOL! They looked dismal and out-classed when the Bills beat them. Season opening games are the most likely to see upsets. Even the hapless Bills have beat better teams in season openers and falsely buoyed up their fans' hopes. Maybe instead of trying to emulate Carolina, the Bills brain trust should emulate the Chiefs who have been a consistent playoff contender since Andy Reid became their HC. They're a run-first team that mostly use short passes but they've added enough speed to go deep when the opportunity is there ... and they field killer Ds besides having an excellent OL that not only can run block extremely well but is capable of keeping their QB clean. IMO, part of the reason that NE looked bad was that Reid out-coached Belichick. The long TD passes were killers ... and totally unexpected.