CosmicBills

Fine, but facts are facts. He is the best athlete on the team. Not the best football player, the best athlete. It's not a slight against the other guys on the team, it's just a testament to Morman's own talents.

I'm kind of with you on this one, Duey. Beat the Jets up today so we don't have to go into the off season hearing how "the Jets are going to be the team to beat ... but now NE has a chip on their shoulders!" Then let NE travel to the west coast and get beat up in SD. Then, all is right with the world.

Most (if not all) NFL teams use the second string QB or the Punter to hold place kicks. There are a few simple reasons. 1. Both positions are used to catching shotgun snaps and are (Romo's case excluded) supposed to have reliable hands to catch and place. 2. Punters and Backup QBs have more time during practice to work with the PK and Long Snapper while the rest of the team is doing 11/11 or 7/7s. 3. If you want to run a fake, it's nice to have someone back there who can throw or run a little. I think the Bills use Morman for all of those reasons, plus he is the best overall athlete on the team. He's a nifty weapon to have back there.

Taylor is under contract. To get him in a Bills uniform would require a trade, most likely a high draft pick (round 2 at least). That would be highly overpaying for a guy on the wrong side of 30 and who's contract is coming up soon. Secondly, I'm not re-inventing the wheel by saying RB is the easiest position on the field to fill. Look around the league: This years top rushers: 1. LT (First Round) 2. Larry Johnson (First Round) 3. Frank Gore (Third Round) 4. Tiki (Second Round) 5. Steve Jackson (First Round) 6. Willie Parker (Remember where the Steelers found him?) 7. Rudi Johnson (Fourth Round) 8. Brian Westbrook (Third Round) 9. Chester Taylor (Sixth Round) 10. Trav Henry (Second Round) Point being, RBs grow on trees. No need to spend draft picks TRADING for one, especially when he's on the wrong side of 30. And this has nothing to do with Taylor's statistical career. I'm a Taylor fan. However, he is not an elite back -- not anymore. So why would the Bills trade away picks/players and then pay him as if he were still one when they can find just as good, if not better, elsewhere? It makes no sense from a team perspective.

In this day and age, good runners grow on trees. You don't over pay for a RB unless he is an elite back like LT/Alexander. That's it. Where did Drew come from? Oh, right...he was a second round rookie who was so good he outplayed the guy you want to bring in. But, you're right, it is too important a position to gamble on... I'm not bashing Taylor by elevating Drew, just saying that you don't over pay for a RB since it's the one position in the game right now with an abundance of talent. The Bills don't need to make RB a priority. And they certainly don't need to trade away draft picks to get an older RB when they can find one in the draft or FA if Willis does indeed leave. It's not "too important of a position".

Ah, okay. I was wrong. Mia culpa. I thought he signed a long term extension last off season, but knew he was still under contract. Regardless, the Bills should not trade for him and I doubt very much he leaves Jacksonville even with Drew there.

I thought he signed a 5 year extension in the offseason last year prior to the draft?

Taylor is locked up in Jacksonville for a very long time. He was born outside of Jacksonville, played at UF, and will retire a Jag. And there is no way the Bills should trade for Taylor -- the cost would be too high for an aging, often injured, yet at times great RB.

First, WR IS a need for the Bills. Without a threat at TE and no true possession receiver on the roster, the offense is one dimensional. If you stop Lee, you stop the passing game. Simple as that. The Bills need another, big play WR. If not, they need a game changing TE. Do you think the Bills offense would suffer if they drafted Calvin Johnson? Of course, this won't happen unless the Bills trade up (which I am not advocating), but a big play WR is a position of dire need for this Offense. In this draft there are no game breaking TE's, and only a handful of game breaking WRs. Jarrett would be a great fit for the offense. Is he the right pick? Maybe, maybe not. We won't be able to tell till we get closer to the draft and really get an idea of the OL and DL available. Chances are, there wont be any huge talents at OL left at the 12th pick. There might be a few DL. But I am always an advocate of the best available player in round one regardless of position. Jarrett (if he comes out) will be one of the best available players if he's sitting there are 12.

Good point. Another key thing to remember in my mind is all mocks are pretty much worthless until after the Combine -- especially for the WR position. Outside of QB, I can't think of a position where the Combine matters more than WR. There could be three or four "surprises" at the Combine that push Jarrett, Samarja (sp) way down. Or, Jarrett could have an amazing Combine and boost his stock to a top 10 pick. You just never know.

For what it's worth, Jarrett in Madden 2007 becomes a 99 by his third year and is a GREAT compliment to Lee.

And the Bills are 39+ under.

I wouldn't count on that. I am betting they offer Nate top dollar on par (if not equal or better) than the highest bidder. Contract money won't be the deciding factor. What will come into play is the market he plays in. If Nate goes to DC, New York or Philly, there are more opportunities for endorsement dollars. That is the area that really kills the Bills with high profile Free Agents. Still, I think Nate will have a much harder time leaving Buffalo (all things being equal) if they win in Baltimore and go out on such a huge upswing. Expect Marv and Ralph to make a sizeable offer to Nate regardless.

Almost twenty-four hours removed from the sting of the collapse against the Titans, I have had some time to reflect on the upcoming New Year's Eve game. In the car on the way home from the game I was bummed because, as the talking heads on the radio were saying, "the Baltimore game now doesn't mean much." After consideration, I say, "bull !" This game means a ton for this young Bills squad. Here is a list of reasons why: 1. Learning from a loss: Wisdom says you can learn a lot from a loss -- usually I don't subscribe to that theory. But in this case, I think it's worth noting. This young team just got kicked in the teeth at home by another young and very hot NFL team. With nothing on the line in the grand scheme of things, they now have to go in and play an excellent Baltimore team who most likely will be resting it's key players due to locking up a first round bye. It would be easy for the Bills to walk in expecting Baltimore to roll over, or worse, for the Bills to walk in not caring. We have heard Marv and Dick talk all year about the "Character" of this team. We witnessed that character when they battled back from a 2-5 start. But this game will be more illuminating. With nothing to play for, a bad taste in their mouths, playing an excellent team on the road, this is an opportunity for the Bills to make a statement about their "Character" and the direction of this franchise. 2. Momentum: While I am a firm believer in the power of momentum, I have often wondered how much, if any at all, momentum can be carried from one season into the next. With so much roster turnover, it's hard to argue that much does. And recent Bills' history suggests that none does (9-7 to 5-11 ring a bell?). Still, this team is different. With one of the youngest rosters in the league, the core of this team is young, and more importantly, going to be back in 2007. Heading into the off-season with a two game losing streak would do much to damage their young confidence. However, a win on the road against a playoff bound Raven team could be just the spark. It would leave the sense of "unfinished business" in the minds of these players -- only in a positive light. Losing close games to Indy, New England and (the future Super Bowl Champion) Chargers, then beating the Ravens would prove to themselves that this young Bills team can hang with anyone. And more importantly can BEAT anyone. 3. Nate Clements: Conventional wisdom states that Clements is already picking out apartments on the Upper West Side or out in Chevy Chase. Still, I think the Bills are still very much alive in the "Nate Clements' Sweepstakes". A loss against Baltimore would seriously jeopardize this. Who could blame Nate for thinking, "I've seen this before -- one step forward, two steps back" and moving onto a "playoff team". However, a win against a good team and an 8-8 record might force him to pause. He might then be forced to really look at the situation in Buffalo: A Cover 2 Defense that caters to his skills (read: better opportunity for stats), a young team with not just playoff "potential", but a legit shot to be contenders in the very near future. This last one is most important -- Nate is one of the architects of this young team. He has been here through the bad times and hasn't seen much good. All NFL players are, at their core, competitors. I would have to think that the thought of leaving a team he helped build just when they are beginning to peak, would be tough to do. TKO did it in Cincy, and I would think he would have words for Nate. Despite what TKO says publicly, we all know he has to have some regrets. So a win could give Nate pause and consider more than just the dollars. A loss, to me, would be the final nail in Bills' coffin regarding Nate. 4. Free Agents: A lot has been discussed in previous threads about how Marv and Dick have won a lot of credibility with Free Agents due to their "straight shooting and fair dealings". This is true. With 30 million plus in cap space, the Bills will have the opportunity to woo some names. Almost as valuable (key word: almost) in these upcoming negotiations will be the "direction" the team is heading. A win puts the team at 8-8 and on the rise. A loss, they are sitting at 7-9 and could be written off as being "lucky" perhaps. I'd rather erase any doubts. Of course there are some who argue that losing to Baltimore would help more than it would hurt because it would (say it with me), "improve their draft position". While this might be true, I think an improved draft slot is less valuable than these other four issues at stake in this game. So yes, in the context of the 2006 season, this game versus Baltimore is meaningless. No playoff implications for either team are on the line. Yet, in context of the 2007 season and beyond, this upcoming game is paramount. Just my two cents.

My fault -- read too quickly. Sorry, Bill

Good post, Bill. One more thing about JP. I've been one of the more outspoken supporters of giving the guy a chance for awhile now. And of course I've been impressed with his progression all year. But I have to be honest. It wasn't until this game, in particular, the last TD pass to Lee when I finally became convinced that JP isn't just "progressing", he's arrived. He is a good NFL QB. Sitting (okay, standing) in the Ralph sometime in the third quarter, I just got that comfortable feeling with JP. I wasn't watching every move he made, or analyzing every decision, I was just watching a good QB lead his team. It's something I haven't gotten to watch in a Bills team in a long time. It's a darn good feeling. I do disagree about Pennington though, he is more than a backup. The kid can start in this league. And, I have a feeling he is going to be a solid (if unspectacular) starter for this team in the near future. Now...about the run defense, OG positions and Nate Clements...

I am not disagreeing with this, but you are saying two different things. 1. Young WILL be a star in the league and people on this board can't see it... and 2. Young won the game for the Titans. I agree with 1 -- but if you watched the game you know that Young, no matter how good he was (and will become), was not the reason the Titans won. The Bills had the game, and on the final drive could not stop Travis Henry. Young did not have much of a role in that final drive. And why should he have? There was no reason to put the ball in the air when Trav was gaining almost 6 yards a pop on the ground. For the most part, the Bills neutralized Young. The plays he made (the TD run, and two passes) didn't kill the Bills. Even with those, they still had a chance to win. Hell, they built a 9 point lead despite those. Yes, the Bills offense added as much to the loss as the D. Their inability to turn their excellent field position in the 3rd and 1st quarter into more TDs than FGs hurt them badly. But still, that final drive....the Titans started on their own TWELVE YARD LINE and marched down to the Bills' twelve yard line almost exclusively using the RUNNING GAME. It was painful to watch.

To be fair, Tripplett isn't a first year starter. He was a highly touted FA signing because of his experience in Dungy's Cover 2 scheme.

I would much rather see this team go into Baltimore (who is still playing for a First round Bye) and knock them off after this tough loss than see the Bills get a few picks higher in the draft. A win over an excellent Baltimore team would do so much more for this young core group of players than a top 15 pick would do. That's my long winded way of saying, I don't care about the draft until 5pm next Sunday.

Young is good and played well but in no way won that game today. Travis Henry and the Bills inability to stop the run on the Titan's final drive won the game. Henry KILLED the Bills more than Young did. Stats don't tell the story with this game. Young scored 3 times, had two nifty runs, but it was Trav who won the game for the Titans. Want proof? Look at the final drive and count how many times they put the ball in Trav's hands rather than Young's.

Yes, JP cares, but his voice was not cracking because he was crying (or close to it). It was cracking because he has the flu and has been battling it all week. Go to buffalobills.com and check out the Turkey Hill Game Ball video clip (Multimedia section) from last week. It was given to JP on Wed or Thursday -- his voice was shot.

And this is a classic "doorknob comment". A doornob comment is what a person REALLY wants to say in a conversation, they leave it for the end -- and the prelude isn't really all that important. And you should be allowed to say this -- you've been Young's biggest fan on here since day one and he played very, very well today.

No, I meant LSI's post specifically, not the commercial.

I guess it depends on the situation. Are you talking a coup? A civil war? Or a riot type situation? If it's a long term situation (like a coup/war etc) it would be a means of protecting my family. If it's a short term situation (a riot), it would be a means of getting the hell out of dodge.

I don't know about anyone else, but I find this post hilarious!