Mikie2times

Slow down bud, I NEVER said savior, in fact I thought I was pretty clear that I don't know who gives us the best chance at winning. Still the garbage list you assembled of Kelly Holcomb career compares favorably to that of a player that has never started an NFL game.

I have been thinking about this for awhile and still don't have a concrete answer. How much should we value getting JP experience as opposed to giving the team the best chance to win now? JP has looked like he should look this preseason. A young quarterback with all the skills, just lacking in some development areas. At this point it appears that the only real way to get over those development problems for him is playing in game situations. Our other option right now is Kelly Holcomb, an experienced vet with great accuracy but little arm strength. IMO he would have a difficult time navigating the Ralph winds in December. A problem he had in a windy game last year but let’s also remember he was going up against a very talented Bills D. So who gives us the best chance to win now? If you believe 100% that it’s JP Losman, and that’s why he is starting then you’re likely a homer or don't believe politics exist in the NFL. I'm not saying that JP is not the correct answer to that question, as the staff has decided to go that route and time will tell. I'm just saying that as it stands now, and by judging the two players experience, and preseason play, its certainly possible that Kelly Holcomb could be the best win now player. The staff decided early that they would announce JP as the man at QB, and plenty of logic supports that decision. It should go on to improve his play for the coming year, and it gave our team an early identity. But the fact remains that he got the job without winning it, hell he got it before our roster was even set yet. To me that says that at least part of him starting is because of draft status, potential, and his future development. If things go well then this will become a dead issue. But if things aren't going so well it will be interesting to see how long the staff values his development over possibly going with a player that gives you a better chance at coming out on top.

This is going to be long but it needs to be to properly explain how terminology works. The terminology used in play calling grows much more complex as you advance in level. That’s not because they want to make things more confusing, it just mean players have much more complex assignments. However all play calling has the same general guidelines. On a team by team basis these guidelines are described with different wording to disguise the play. So to actually know what the specific wording is for each team would be impossible for someone who is not involved with the team. It probably even changes year to year somewhat and possibly a little bit during the year at the NFL level. The general structure of a play is something like this QB-RB-FB gets assigned a number; in my experiences those numbers have been 1, 2, and 4 respectively. The offensive lineman also get assigned numbers from 1-9. These numbers represent running lanes. So a typical running play would say formation first, followed by the strong side, followed by a number, followed by blocking assignment, then cadence. Say the play is Eye right 24 zones on three, Eye Right is the formation and the strong side, 24 would be the tailback running to running lane 4, Zone would be the blocking assignment, and 3 would be the cadence. In passing plays receivers are assigned either letters to indicate their position, or are given a predetermined place in the terminology of the play. For example the slot receiver might know that he is the third pattern to be called in each play, or he might be given a letter such as Z. Passing routes are also given either letters or numbers to describe what pattern to run, or they are just called exactly what they are. NFL teams probably combine all three methods to help disguise the plays. Say the play is Shotgun Right X12 OUT S Option on three, Shotgun Right is the formation and strong side, X12 describes the X receiver running a 12 route, OUT describes the second receiver running an out route, S option describes the 3rd receiver running a Slant route with the option of changing his route to suit the coverage, and three describes the cadence. What makes the NFL's play calling so complex is not the basic plays being called, its the other eight million options within a play that give players freedom to change their assignments based on how the defense lines up.

I aint skinny dippin with no dudes

You sound like me talking. I'm in the same boat as you and feeling the same way about it. Spending 50$ bucks for an eighter, and generally becoming unmotivated and guilty about my ways. I'm going to quit also, like you said I just feel like I could be a more productive and happy person without the bud. I’m sure you probably love to smoke; I know I do, but eventually you need to recognize if it’s negatively affecting your life, if so it’s a wise decision to give it up.

I think the data shows a strong correlation with winning games. Considering how many other factors are involved in winning this shows that a single dominant RB will get you an increased likelihood of coming out on top. Rushing yards are created by elite backs and average ones, it doesn't matter who got those yards it just matters that they got them. This data indicates that when those yards are created by elite backs it could lead to nearly a 1 game advantage over the course of the year. Follow that data down the list to the worst starting backs and you would likely get a 2 game advantage when compared to the elite backs. Think 1 or 2 games matter over the course of the season? I'm sure the Bills would be a good team to ask that question to.

I have to agree with FFS assessment of Denny. The guy adds solid depth at DE and can even play some DT. He sucked as a rookie, nobody's disputing that, but last year he started to show he could play at this level. Besides, could anybody really in vision Denny flying out the gate his rookie year? He never really played against top notch competition at BYU, and his height made it very difficult to get used to the leverage needed to play DL in the NFL. Last year he made some real progress and it wouldn't surprise me one bit to see that trend continue. Past Denny, Schobel, and Kelsey I expect us to keep one more DE. It's a crap shoot at this point but the battle will likely be between Ritzmann and Gause. One will probably go to the PS, and if I had to take one of those two I would say Ritzmann makes it based on his experience. Ritzmann would also likely have the edge to contribute on special teams given his speed advantage over Gause. Time will tell

I agree that the Flutie play against the Jags was among the best in the last 15 years or so. Past that I also felt Nate Odom’s interception of Warren Moon in OT was also fantastic. That play cemented the greatest comeback in NFL history. The Bills dodged a huge bullet when they only allowed the field goal on Houston’s final drive, and Houston did have some momentum heading into OT. Can you even imagine if Houston ended up winning that thing after we came back 35-3? I would also like to add Bruce Smiths one handed INT against the Jets, and Eric Moulds long TD reception in the "Just Give it to em" game. Both incredible individual plays, and while they don’t hold the historical impact of the Flutie or Odom’s plays they were incredible nonetheless.

I couldn’t get past "and knows how to pass block"

Thanks for the link, I was looking to replace my old flag and this one would be perfect.

"Stop looking at my cup"

My Bills side welcomes you, my Michigan side says screw OHIO!!! As much as I despise the Buckeyes I will say I'm looking forward to watching Ginn Jr this year, the kid is fun to watch.

With so much media and fan talk about our team’s chances resting on JP I decided to do a study on 1st round QB’s. In order to do an accurate report I stuck within the last 7 drafts, from 1998-2004. Obviously the further back you go the more the game changes. I thought the last seven years would not only be a large enough sample but also represent today’s game fairly well. What I did was take every first round QB in the last 7 years and separated them into two groups. Group one consists of quarterbacks that started games in their first year. Some started less then five, some over 12, overall the average was 9 total games. Group two consists of quarterbacks that started after season one. My goal in all this was to determine what chances JP has of performing at or above Drew Bledsoe’s level this coming season. With us so close last year many feel that if JP can perform at Bledsoe levels we could be a playoff team. For those that don’t have the info handy Bledsoe posted a very average 76.6 rating this past season. So as I move onto my findings keep that number in the back of your mind. An astonishing 15 out of 18 players make up group one. Amongst the rookie first round starters only Big Ben went on to have a pro bowl caliber season. The average QB rating was a 66.8, with 5 players posting a rating in the 70’s. The rest of the players fell in the mid 60’s with 3 players falling in the 50 range. Out of the 18 first round players 9 players are slated to start for their respective teams this season. Only 3 players out of the 18 drafted had the luxury of learning the first season. Those three players include Carson Palmer, Chad Pennington, and Daunte Cullpeper. Palmer and Cullpeper started in year 2, while Pennington got to wait until year 3. The average first year QB rating of these three players is 93.1. Palmer had the lowest rating at 77.3, with both Cullpeper and Pennington around the 100 mark. So how should we be left to interpret this data? Well first off many other factors exist into these player ratings. Most importantly teams that start 1st round QB’s usually draft high, and have weaker teams. These players are thrown to the fire to take on what is arguably the most difficult position in the NFL. It’s no surprise half of them fail, with the vast majority performing badly the first year. The ones that find success are most likely not the most physically gifted but are probably the most mentally tough. You place the hopes of a franchise in the hands of an inexperienced 21 year old, surround him with poor talent, and say learn. Many of these guys just can’t handle that kind of stress and they end up losing the edge that got them there in the first place. Group 2 players which now have the addition of JP Losman enter the league under much different circumstances. Usually if a team has the luxury of waiting to start these players they already have a competitive team. This in itself takes loads of pressure of the position, but even more important is the fact that these guys can sit and absorb things for a year while group one guys are forced to learn on the fly. JP will likely struggle at times but expecting a high 70’s QB rating is not being unrealistic. Over the last seven years all three players in his position posted that rating and two of them posted a mark much higher. You can even tip the scales more in JP’s favor as the talent on this years Bills team will compare very favorable to the teams Palmer, Pennington, and Cullpeper started their first season with.

We got a few Buffalo Wild Wings in Michigan. I don't care for chain restaurants all that much but Wild Wings is a pretty solid place. Tons of different flavors for wings, all pretty good. Not to mention they usually have a slew of TV's so it’s a decent place to watch sports at.

The only thing we know as fans is that we get a 3rd round pick for Travis, past that the rest is blind speculation. Even if the Jaguars eventually would have shelled out a 2 how can we know for sure about that, and how do we know any details about the Titans position? Teams are about to head into camp, and it's possible the Titans threw down a take it or leave it 3rd for Henry. If your TD you can either accept the price you been asking for all along or continue to wait. The longer you hold your cards the more possibilities arise, but that doesn't mean those possibilities are all positive. What if fragile Freddy does recover or the Titans grow impatient with our games? Just like in cards the chance for a better hand does exist, but so does the chance at busting. In the end we took the safe route and still got more value then most experts thought we could get. I'm not one of the people exclaiming TD is a miracle worker because of this trade. But at the same time I find it difficult to find anything wrong with the move.

I heard of Verba so I think we sign him...... Kidding aside I think something could be in the works with the Bills. TD certainly has a flair for the dramatic, and the timing of the Bills contacting Verba's agent and the Henry deal lead me to think we could be clearing cap space. Obviously this is just a theory, but it just seems possible given the Bills circumstances. TD is rolling the dice big time on this LT situation and if it doesn't work out the media is gonna to fry him. He can relieve so much media and fan pressure by making this move, and in essence clear his liability for the coming season. We get Verba and what peace of the puzzle can the fans or media hang TD for? Not only would this make sense or TD's future but it would also give the Bills 5 quality starters across and some quality depth. People mentioned some character issues but why would the Bills even bother contacting Verba’s agent if that was a major issue? The big hurdle would be the contract Verba is looking for, however as time passes his demands will fall and it might be possible to work out a reasonable offer. I guess we will see in the coming weeks if talks heat up between the two.

Same game in which replay clearly showed Travis scored on that drive.

2005 Chrysler Pacifica loaded, also 1,000$ in audio upgrades

What I don't understand is how anybody could view EM as being on a major decline. EM is top 15 and maybe top 10, his stats aren't as inflated as they used to be but that’s what happens when you have been the entire offense for 5 years. You take away the goaline fade and we probably average 6 points a game during that span. The guy is durable, adds great leadership, and still can come up with the spectacular catch. Check out the Ravens game from last year if you don't believe that. He probably made the finest catch of his career in that game. His explosiveness has declined some but he still has great strength and technique. He has the occasional drop but it's not like he's playing soft, he got most those drops on 8 yard Bledsoe lasers when he was looking up field to make a play. I hope we don't find out anytime this season what this offense would be like without EM, but I have a feeling if it does happen many will have a better understanding of how critical EM is.

Thank god they get paid for this

I caught him and the steak on ESPN in their typical feud. Salisbury said we will get the 3rd rounder; Clayton responded that TH may not guarantee us a 3rd. Salisbury then asked if he was worth a third, and Clayton said yes he was at least from a fantasy perspective. Per usual Clayton was his flustered uninformative self. Not that Salisbury is much better but I would love to see him pimp slap that skinny runt.

In my experiences I try and find a common ground when it comes to money and usually I'm successful in doing that. But I will agree that the "gotta be me attitude" is ridiculous. I dated a girl like that once, the whole relationship she expected the freedom of being single with the comfort of our relationship. NEWS FLASH, being in a relationship and being single are two different worlds. Lots of things change, you compromise, you find common ground, and you both change. If it's a good relationship you change together, but I find it hard to believe that two people could live the single lifestyle and still make it work.

These types of things usually involve just yards and not TD's. I would guess that the magic number ends up around 1,200 yards.