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In addition, Bledsoe is remarkably slow at making his reads, and was in the most complex (for receivers and QB) offensive system in the NFL. With poor blocking, his protection was breaking down before Bledsoe could decide what to do. RJ had something of the same problem, though in a different offence.

I am coming to the conclusion that in fact Losman gives the Bills the best chance to win now, not just in the future, based on performance in training camp. Anyone arguing that Holcopmb gives the best chance to win has to ignore what's happening in training camp and base his/her opinion entirely on last year and the fact that Holcomb is more experienced. Losman is the better QB in traing camp.

I would not be surprised in the least if Holcomb starts (unless he continues to have practices like last night). I also think it means nothing. If Holcomb starts vs. Carolina, Losman starts the Bengals preseason game. If this is indeed a competition, both are going to need to have their shots versus the opposing team's #1 guys.

Yes, it's a fantasy report. You have to read it as such, but he's basically saying McGahee is going to be better than people are expecting, people who are basing expectations on last year. That's good news whether based on fantasy projections or not. As far as A-train is concerned, I think the Bills have an interesting porblem in that they have potentially two very good every down backups in A-train and Gates. It may be that both could make solid #2 backs. Of course, only one can have the job. Shaud Williams, if he makes the team, should fianlly be assigned the role that is appropriate for him, "situational back-up." The Bills' depth at RB is potentially the best it's been in years. Of course, other than the starter, fantasy guys are not going to be thinking about that too much.

JArthur has a poiont, but this point in training camp is not the time to start getting too drastic in the action the coach takes to curb penalties. At this point in time, you have players run laps, or have them do it over several times to get it right. You don't cut them. It might be different in a few weeks.

If Holcomb starts, the Bills will have to use a mostly short passing game that features a lot of running. Defenses, not respecting the deep ball will crowd the line, stack the bocks and make McGahee settle for lots of short gainers. The Bills offence will be low scoring and booooooorrrring.

"Holcomb got the first 10 snaps ... however, (Holcomb) seemed to have more running plays called when he was under center Saturday." This is almost a complete flip plop of the practice on Friday where Losman had a lot of running plays and few pass attempts.

Kingsbury is something of a noodle arm himself. My assumption is that Losman, Holcomb, and Nall will be the Bills QBs this year. Ochs may make the PS and then displace Holcomb in 2007. That all changes if Holcomb is named starter. If that is the case, I think 2007 would be Losman's last year as a Bill. Buffalo would be drafting their next "QB of the future" in 2007 and probably match him up with a couple of veterans (Holcomb and Nall)

I'd be a little surprised if Gates can push A-Train off the roster, but I think he could push for some of the limited back-up playing time. I think Burns is definitely on borrowed time. I hear Shuad hs looked pretty quick too.

I wondered how long it would take for Time Warner to comply with the court order.

Buffalo is well down the list of teams with proven talent. I don't think there is any secret about that. It's quite possible that Buffalo's receivers could be a very pleasant surprise, and the line could gel at least somewhat this season. In defense, Buffalo is deep at DB and LB (if Spikes is as far along in his rehab as he appears to be). From the outside looking in it appears as if Buffalo has only on solid starting defensive lineman, Aaron Schobel. There are questions about everyone else. Can Anderson build on his late season improvement in 2005. Can Tripplett hold up as a starter. Are McCargo and Williams anywhere near as good as the Bills thought they were when they drafted them. Can Kelsay put a lousy sophomore season behing him. He gained weight to take reps at DT and sacrificed speed and quickness. Can Denny pressure the QB in this defense when he rarely has to this point in his career. Who will win the 4th DE spot? Obviously it won't be an established NFL player. I won't go into the QB spot since we all know about that and have been discussing it to death on other threads.

I could see Ochs going to the PS if he were healthy. I think he'll just be put on PUP though. I think Gates makes the team. I think Jackson gets cut, and possibly Burns too. Burns is a good special teams player, but I don't think he makes enough of a contribution otherwise to warrant staying on the roster. He really has little to offer as a RB/FB. I'd like to see Nance stick, but I think Buffalo needs top carry five receivers for it to happen. Evans, Price, Parrish, and Reed are locks to make the team. I think there is a competition between Davis and Aiken for #5. So Nance is going to have to get a bit lucky. Neufeld is history. I'll take on the offensive line. Starters will be Gandy, Reyes, Fowler, Villarrial, and Peters. I think Buffalo will carry 3 or 4 reserves. Preston is a lock. It gets foggy after that. I think Merz and Pennington are destined for the PS. That leaves Gibson, Jerman, Morgan, Geisinger, Butler, Thomas, and McFarland competing over 3 spots at most. I think Morgan, McFarland, and Thomas are likely cuts. Geisinger is on thin ice too. Gibson solidifies his chances if he can play guard. At DT it's Anderson, Tripplett, McCargo and Williams. If Buffalo keeps a fifth DT, which wouldn't surprise me, it's Sape who's better suited to this offence than what he's played in the past. At DE Schobel, Kelsay, and Denny are locks. I think the fourth spot is between Word and Cooper, and I think Cooper might edge out Word. LB: Fletcher-Baker, Spikes, and Crowell start, Posey and Watson should make the team. I think Ellison makes the PS and Stamer nails the sixth and final roster spot. Haggan's lack of speed finally costs him a roster spot. At CB We all know Clements and McKee will start. I think Greer is going to take the nickle spot. Youboty gets a roster spot by virtue of being a third round pick and I think King still gets extra credit for being a draft choice last year. I think the Bills are intrigued by Bassey's raw speed and good size and give him a pass to the PS. This is a tough area because the Bills have a ton of depth at CB. Kiwaukee Thomas has experience. James Bethea has some ability and so does Rob Lee. Rob Lee did a good job playing safety in NFL Europe and he's got sub-4.4 speed. I don't think there's room for them though. Lee could go to the PS, especially if the Bills pass on Bassey. I think Leonhard gets cut at safety, and sadly Rashad Baker (unless Whitner is a long holdout). It's tough to get a read on Wire. In theory he should suck at this defensive scheme but he has been a special teams captain and that may be enough to hold on. And now for my lock pick: Joshua Brazen will be cut and Brian Moorman will continue as Buffalo's punter. Brilliant, isn't it!

Losman has had some good practices at camp and some not so good practices. I think it's too early to give up on him. If he can't do mit, I'm afraid Buffalo really doesn't have an adequate Plan B though.

Cooper has been very good lately in camp. Neil does not have great velocity as a long snapper. He whould have to get a lot better before the Bills replace Schneck witn Neil.

Well, between Kingsbury and Holcomb, neither has much of an arm, but Kingsbury at least ran a college offence where he was something of a gunslinger who put up huge numbers. He may not be able o throw the deep out, or a 60 yard bomb, but he's not afraid to go to his first receiver.

I think the Bills are going to need a preseason game or two to provide the opportunity for these two guys to distinguish themselves. Camp is too controlled. I think too that it is going to be more of a case of one QB taking himself out of the competition than one QB all of a sudden appearing to be superman. If JP Losman can in a game look reasonably poised and consistent, and Holcomb continues to check down on nearly every attempt, throwing a myriad of 3 yard dump offs, the Bills almost have to give the job to Losman.

Obviously, that's one of the mistakes. The biggest, actually.

It is interesting to note that the only other team that doesn't get a visit from ESPN to their training camp is the Chiefs. The Chiefs visit the Vikings for a scrimmage. Clkayton will be covering the Vikings while Smith takes the Chiefs' perspective. Obviously, they aren't putting a very high priority on the Bills, but that may not be a bad thing. Sometimes its OK to fly under the radar while you're trying to rebuild. That way you can surprise some people.

It's not perfect, but it's not a bad writeup.

I'm sure Tolbert will be working with him to develop more "suddenness" in his moves so he can gain some separation. However, working in his favor is the new league policy on enforcing interference calls. Nance is big enough that he should not have too much of a problem with CBs jamming him at the LOS. Once he gets past the line he's got an advantage against most CB just being as tall as he is, combined with his great hands. He's going to outreach most CBs, and once he's got the ball, he's got it. The combination could be really dangerous in the red zone and the end zone wtih fade routes and high thrown balls.

I post occasionally over there. I did sign up to be a Bills Backer, but you have to practically jump through hoops to even find it anymore. I finally bookmarked the forum so it should be OK.

I think Preston is probably ready for extensive playing time this season if need be, whether he starts or not. If Villareal struggles or gets hurt, I don't thing the Bills will have near as much problem with dropoff as they did last season. I don't know if the same can be said for Geisinger, who I thought was a pretty big disappointment last season. I really thought he'd be better as a rookie than he was.

Opinions of Gandy run the gamut, from worthless to nearly an all pro. The truth is probably somewhere close to the middle. He's serviciable with quick feet and solid technique, but he's not the stud most teams would like to see playing the left tackle spot. We can get by with him if we get decent play out of the left guard position, the worst spot on the line last season. Most local people are high on Peters. The most negative comment you hear most of the time is that he is inexperienced. He seemed to durvive last year thought, and he's certainly not getting less experienced with the passage of time. There are a few ignoramous national media types who can't get past the fact he was a tight end all the way through college.

That's been my understanding. He missed time, but even when he played, he wasn't close to 100%. That he played is testament either to Mularkey's stupidity or the lack of depth. Probably a little of both.

When a team is coming off a bad season, the questions are inevitable. Unless you sign established stars in gree agency, and the Bills had too many holes to do that, any of the changes you do make are going to be question marks. Iagree that a winning record is unlikely this coming season, but I still like what the Bills did. The got younger, they got more athletic, they got quicker, and they seem to have raised the level of character on the team. I think they may be good for two or three more wins this year, but i think the stage could be set (if the QB question gets answered this year) for a verry strong season in 2007.